Hunted
by Aleena Kiwiana
Summary: When Mckenna arrives in La Push she's scared, alone, and sure that life couldn't get any worse. What happens when she's thrown head first into the world of pack? Has she run far enough to escape the monsters hunting her? SethXOC
1. Chapter 1

_Hey! Ok thanks for reading, heres what you need to know. In my story Jake didn't imprint on Nessie, and Paul didn't imprint on Rachel. It's set three years after the end of Breaking Dawn._

_Please reveiw, but go easy on me, it's my first time..._

_I do not own twilight in any way shape or form, SM does, I only own my OC's._

**Prologue**

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McKenna Grey growled angrily as she flopped back onto her bed and stared at the bright pink walls in disgust, she was sure Annabeth did this shit on purpose, just to piss her off, you know, coz she wasn't angry enough at the world already. Pink was her least favourite colour, so why the hell would Annabeth have had her new bedroom painted _hot pink_? She glared angrily at the offending walls one more time before storming out of the only bedroom in the small house. Well, actually it didn't really qualify as a house. Mac thought a tiny hut was a better description of the place she was being forced to live in for whoever knows how long. She loudly stomped her way down the short hallway before slumping on to the sofa with a loud sigh.

When they'd dumped her at the boarder of the small Indian reservation that was now her home they'd given her a set of instructions, which she was to follow at all times. Apparently her life depended on it, and as much as Mac would like for that to simply be her over protective guardians exaggerating, it wasn't, sadly her life really did depend on it. Unfortunately for her that meant living on a tiny Indian Reservation beside the Olympia National park, being taken away from everybody she knew and loved, and being forbidden from leaving the tiny reservation. At all. Under no circumstances. Mac was pretty sure she was going to go crazy. What the hell was she supposed to do in a place that consisted of a grocery store, a coffee shop, a small shop that sold handmade Quileute jewellery, and the small local school? There was only so much time one could spend grocery shopping, she hated coffee, and what was the point in buying pretty jewellery if she had nowhere to wear it? And she sure as hell wasn't going back to school. When Oscar had suggested that one she'd nearly hit him in the head with the jar of jam she'd been holding, he'd dodged it anyway and she'd ended up having to clean jam and glass off the wall and floor of the hotel for an hour before they'd left.

She again sighed, louder this time as she looked out the window and saw that it was raining, again. Apparently it rained a lot here. But that was ok, Mac liked the rain. She liked how it made everything green and lush, liked the soft noises it made on her roof at night as she tried to sleep, and she liked how fresh everything smelt after it'd been raining. She did, however, hate walking in the rain, so this near constant drizzle was really messing up her plans to explore her new home and putting her in an even worse mood.

If she was honest with herself it wasn't even the ridiculously pink walls, or the constant rain that had her so wound up. It was the fact they'd left her here in this tiny hole of a place. Alone. Mac hadn't been alone for a long time, not for more than an hour anyway. So why were they leaving her now? What was so special about this place that they thought she would be safe from him here, without their constant protection? She didn't know. Right now she didn't know a lot of things. She didn't know where her family was, if they were ok. She didn't know where Annabeth and Oscar were, her so called best friends and protectors. She didn't know where _he_ was, what he was doing, or why he wanted her so much. And she didn't know why Annabeth had dropped her off two miles from the reservations boarder and made her get a taxi the rest of the way to her new home. Mac didn't know anything and right now it was really pissing her off. She _hated_ not knowing stuff. She hated being alone even more.

"What do you mean I'm going alone?" McKenna had screeched angrily at the beautiful blonde woman standing coolly in front of her.

The woman sighed tiredly, "We didn't want to have to do this Mac. But their getting closer honey and it will be safer for you this way. They will have a harder time getting to you there and It means Oscar and I can concentrate on finding him".

"But-"

"-**NO BUTS MAC**", the tall dark haired man said loudly slamming the door as he walked into the small hotel room that'd been their home for two days now. "Annabeth is right, it's better this way, we can focus on finally finding that asshole and _finishing_ this, and you can have a semi normal life until it happens, and that's that, end of story, finished, DONE. Now try and get some sleep, we've got shit to do tomorrow and I don't want to have to deal with your cranky ass again". He declared as he plopped down onto the bed beside the young woman who was glaring at him angrily as he draped his cold arm casually over her shoulder.

"And just what the hell am I supposed to do by myself while you two are off fighting the incarnate of evil together?" she'd said hotly.

"I don't know Mac, join a fucking book club? – sorry", he said shooting the glaring Annabeth an apologetic look, "-make some friends, party, do things a normal 19 year old girl would do."

She sighed and glared at them, "I'm not getting out of this am I?"

"Nope" he said, giving her a cheeky grin and patting her head as Annabeth shook hers sadly in agreement.

She glared at them one more time before snuggling down under the covers of her bed. "Just so you know, I hate you both", she said yawning loudly and closing her eyes. Mac was a smart girl and knew when she was fighting a losing battle, and right now she was tired as hell. She tried talking her way out of it again in the morning but no matter how many times she tried, the conversation always ended the same. With her ass in La Push and them away, chasing danger without her.

So here she was, living in a tiny hut, on the Indian reservation of La Push. Alone and more bored than she had ever been in her entire life. She was pretty sure shit couldn't get any worse than this. She should have known better.


	2. Chapter 2

_Hey! =) Thanks for reading and I'd love it if you reviewed!_

_Cheers to mel[dot]wolfgirl and MyLittleBlueBird for reviewing, it made my day!_

_Of course I don't own Twilight, SM does, but I do own my OC's._

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**Chapter 1**

After two days of mopping on the couch and living off nothing but old pizza from the fridge, Mac decided she'd had enough. The pizza was starting to go mouldy and Mac was pretty sure that if she didn't leave the house soon she was going to chew off her own arm she was so bored. She sighed and tried to lift her legs off the couch, they weren't interested, they'd much rather stay here where it was dry and warm than carry her lazy ass to the La Push store and back. She sighed sadly and rolled of the couch, landing on the hard wood floor with a thud. That was going to bruise.

She groaned loudly as she slowly picked herself up off the cold floor and started shuffling down the small corridor towards the still hideously pink bedroom. She dressed herself quickly, throwing on her running gear and an oversized hoody from the small closet in the corner of the room and putting her long chocolate brown hair up in a high pony tail on top of her head. She glanced out the window as she grabbed her iPod of the kitchen counter. It was drizzling lightly outside, mildly annoying, but not heavy enough to constitute the use of an umbrella.

In an effort to put herself in a better mood Mac listened to her "happy playlist" the whole way to the store. In case anyone was wondering, she didn't make it. Annabeth thought it was unhealthy for her to listen to such depressing, angry music all the time and made it for her to listen to more calming, soothing music. She was convinced that Macs "anger problems" were somehow related to her choice in music. Mac knew that was a load of crap, she was pretty sure her so called "anger problems" were caused by the fact that she was being hunted by a complete psychopath and had been living with two of the weirdest people she'd ever met in her life for the past year. They were weird, but she loved them anyway, they'd taken her in, protected her when no one else could. And now they were the only two people she had left in the world. And let it be said that she used the word people loosely. Mac wasn't sure _what_ her two best friends were, and to be honest she really didn't want to. One time she'd seen Oscar punch a hole in a cement wall like it was made of paper and no matter how quietly she cursed, Annabeth always heard. _Always. _She didn't ask and they didn't tell, and that's the way she wanted things to stay.

When Mac finally reached the store she switched off and pocketed her iPod, grabbing a shopping basket on her way in. Mac wondered slowly down the aisles, throwing items into the basket hanging from her arm. Most of the basket consisted of instant meals and junk food. Mac had always had a sweet tooth, and if her mother had let her, she'd have lived off chocolate and fizzy drink for her entire life. Unfortunately for 6 year old Mac her mother had been a huge health nut, and preferred steamed vegetables and carrot juice, so the only way little Mac had been able to get her sugar fix was to beat up the other kids and steal theirs. It'd been working well to, until whiney little Mikey Bates had told the teacher on her, resulting in 2 week's worth of detentions, a _really_ boring lecture from her mother and being grounded for a month. For the record, she still hated the little prick.

When Mac reached the check out there was a small line, three young men, all Quileute stood in front of her, they all had the same dark coloured hair that hung long about their shoulders. And they laughed boisterously as they annoyed the woman at the checkout. Mac thought that the girl really ought to tell them to stuff off, but she really didn't want to get involved, she'd only been here two days and would rather not get in a fight with some idiots in a grocery store. She wasn't too keen on the idea of getting banned from the only place on the whole reservation she could purchase food from.

"Come on Clearwater" the tallest boy said in seductive tone to the now highly pissed off Leah Clearwater standing behind the counter. "We've all heard the rumours babe. You've slept with half of La Push, so it really wouldn't hurt to be fair and give us a go to, would it now?"

For the record if her boss hadn't threatened to fire her last week for scaring the customers, she'd have broken Trey Carters pointy fucking nose a long time ago. As it was she was already considering it, she didn't need this job that much, did she? She sighed angrily knowing full well that she did, and that her mother would have kittens if she got fired from this job as well. She thought it was kind of unfair, considering that it'd been Sue Clearwater herself who'd fired Leah from her last job. So what if she'd tipped the guys drink on his head? At least she didn't hit him or break his sweaty old hand like she'd wanted to. The old creeper shouldn't have had his hands on her ass in the first place.

She gritted her teeth loudly as he wiggled his over grown eyebrows at her, causing his friends burst out laughing behind him. Carter was _really _pushing his luck this time. Her self control wasn't that good, and she was about to snap. Her hands started to shake as he spat another comment about her being the village bicycle that she was to far passed mad to hear. She could feel the worry of her Alpha as she gripped the counter, willing her to calm down. She was going to kill him. She was going to-

"-ALRIGHT, THAT IS _**ENOUGH**_", the young woman yelled, putting the magazine she'd been reading back down and stepping forward. Mac had been reading a magazine, trying to wait patiently, trying to ignore the babbling idiots in front of her and trying to ignore the poor woman behind the register, who had begun shaking violently after that last comment. But unfortunately there was only so much one could ignore, and after waiting in line for the last five minutes her bad mood had returned with a vengeance. She wanted to go home and feast on her packet noodles and these assholes were really starting to piss her off. "I really am not in the mood for this shit", she snapped, "so take your fucking groceries and fuck off home".

For a moment the store was silent as she glared dangerously at the boys in front of her and they stared back at her in shock. Then they started to laugh at her. One of them was laughing so hard he was doubled over, clutching his sides as he gasped for air. The tallest one stepped forward, pushing himself into Mac, pushing her back into the counter.

"Take a chill pill princess, we're only having some fun", he said as his eyes slid slowly over her body, causing her to tighten her hands into fists at her sides. "You don't look like you're from around here" he said running his thumb over her cheek roughly.

"Really? What the fuck gave that away?" she hissed slapping his hand away from her face and gesturing to her porcelain white skin. "You must be a fucking genius to have figured that out all by yourself".

He laughed and pushed back closer to her again, so their bodies were flush against each other. "You're a little fire cracker aren't ya? You're a cutie too", he purred as he ran his hands down over her sides and under her over sized hoody. His hands only stopping their exploration of her body when they reached her backside, which he gave a not so gentle squeeze as he grinned down at her.

She glared up at him, her large brown eyes narrowed and burning in anger as she pushed him backwards, "Touch me again and I swear to God I'm gunna shove your fucking Cheerio's so far up your ass your gunna be coughing them up for weeks. Now take your groceries and your stupid fucking friends and piss off. _I won't tell you again_", she threatened lowly.

He gave her a sly grin and brought his hand back down behind her, giving her rump a gentle slap. He didn't even have time to tell her she had an awfully nice rear end like he had intended, because before the oily teenage boy could even blink, Mac brought her knee up in to his groin. _Hard_. With a loud cry he doubled over in pain, and as he did she bought right elbow back across his face, creating a satisfying crack as her elbow connected with his nose. Mac grinned down at the now bleeding boy who lay trembling on the ground, glancing over quickly at his friends who were standing back with a mixed look of horror and shock plastered on their acne covered faces.

"Next time I tell you to fuck off, do yourself a favour and listen, asshole" she said coolly as she handed the smallest guy the bag of groceries violently. He looked like he was going to protest, but quickly changed his mind as Mac cracked her knuckles loudly and Leah Clearwater shot him a look that would haunt his nightmares for years to come.

"You're fucking crazy, you bitch", the other one snapped as he hauled his bleeding friend up off the ground and out the door of the store.

Leah Clearwater stood behind the register, frozen in shock. Did that seriously just happen? She stared at the dark headed girl who was now calmly unpacking her basket full of junk food onto the register. She was of average height for a girl with a slim build and dark brown hair and eyes, which were now staring at her expectantly, waiting for her to start scanning the pile of food on the counter.

"If it wasn't for the fact I need this job, I would've kicked his pathetic ass myself", Leah said slowly as she started to scan the items and place them in a bag.

"Yeah, I know. You looked about ready to leap over the counter and rip his head off", Mac said, shrugging lightly. "But I figured it'd be better if I did it. It's been a while since I kicked some body's ass, and it always makes me feel _so_ much better... I think I cured my bad mood". She chirped brightly, handing over her card.

Leah swiped the card and gave the girl an appraising look as she typed in her pin number, "What's your name?" Leah asked, handing her back the card after the accepted sign had flashed up on the screen.

"Mac", she said, gathering her bags of groceries up in her arms, "you?"

"Leah", the she wolf smirked and pointed to her name badge.

Mac glanced at the badge pinned to Leah's shirt and blushed lightly, "oh... Well, I'll see you round", she said, walking towards the door. "You might want to clean that up though" she called back lightly, pointing to the trail of blood leading towards the door, "someone might slip and hurt themselves".

As Leah Clearwater cleaned up the bloody mess left by the now mentally scared teenage boy, she may or may not have smiled the whole time. And McKenna may or may not have hummed happily the whole way back her little hut, her bad mood forgotten and thoughts of an instant noodle feast in her head. But it doesn't matter, all that matters is Mac's bad mood had vanished and Leah didn't get fired from her latest job, and although neither girl realised it at the time, it was the start of a very important friendship.

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He looked angrily around the empty room and snarled viciously. They had been so close. So fucking close to finally catching the bastard but at the last moment he'd slipped through their fingers _again_. He was really getting sick of this game. He was toying with them leading the down fake trails and into dead ends. He snarled again, more loudly this time, as his fist connected with the dry wall, creating a gaping hole through and out the brick on the other side.

He felt her hand on his shoulder before he heard her, and with his super naturally enhanced hearing, that was saying something. Damn she was sneaky.

"We will catch him you know" she stated quietly, her hand still resting gently on his shoulder in an attempt to calm him. Oscar had always had a temper, even when he was human. Unfortunately, when he was turned, he became about 300 times more volatile than before, meaning he could go from happy to severely pissed off in less than half a second. She'd been the only person able to calm him that he'd met so far, that's why he stuck around. Well her and the kid, McKenna reminded him so much of himself, quick to anger and unbelievably loyal. He never could resist winding her up. She was hilarious when she was mad. The kid cursed like a sailor and had a tendency to throw things around when she was pissed off enough. Usually they were aimed at him, she hadn't managed to hit him yet, a fact which annoyed her to know end.

He sighed gently, his temper subsiding as he lent back into the touch of the woman behind him. "Yeah, I now Anna", he stated softly. "And when we do, I'm going to take great pleasure in watching him burn".

Annabeth smiled dryly, her buttery topaz eyes sad as she ran a soothing hand through the silky strands of his short dark hair, "me to Oscar, me to".

Annabeth hated killing, it was pointless. But _he_ was the exception. She hated what she had become, what he had made her, and she was determined to prevent McKenna from sharing the same fate. She wouldn't wish this life on her worst enemy, the pain of watching everyone you loved, _everything_ you loved, die before your eyes, was a pain no one should be cursed to experience.

Annabeth pulled away from the beautiful man in front of her, moving to the other side of the room in a move to quick for human eyes to follow. "We'll have to go back to the start of the trail", she said quietly, avoiding his gaze as he watched her sadly, "and see if we can find where it splits off".

It _killed him _that she always did this, never allowing him near her for long, always putting distance between them. It killed him that he had fallen in love with her the moment he laid eyes on her and she wouldn't even stand close to him for more than five minutes. "Yeah", he said quickly, reverting back to his previous more angry tone. "We should hurry, It's going to rain soon, and it'll wash away his trail", and with that, he leapt with cat like grace out the open window of the room and into the pitch black night.

Annabeth sighed sadly and followed the younger vampire into the darkness. When they found him, she was going to make him pay.

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Mac had just opened the front door to the hut when her cell phone rang, the stupid thing gave her such a fright she dropped her bags full of sustenance on the ground with a small yelp. She cursed quietly to herself as she pulled the phone, which was loudly blaring the star wars theme, out of her pocket and after checking the number, flipped it open.

"What's crack-a-lacking home dog?" She answered quickly.

"_What? _McKenna Grey, I am **not** your home dog", came the stunned voice from the other side of the line after several moments of silence. "How many times have I told you to answer your phone properly?" The exasperated voice asked.

"But Annabeth", she replied smugly, a huge grin on her face, "we're friends, I refer to all of my friends as home dogs. You should consider it a compliment" she said, turning on the electric jug in the corner of the small kitchen.

"And how is being referred to as a dog ever good thing?" replied the bell like voice shortly.

Mac shrugged her shoulders dismissively a gesture, which if the other woman could have seen it, would've served to annoy her even more. "It just is, trust me Annabeth, I'm really very wise. I'm like that old man turtle off Kung Fu Panda, I just know things", she said matter of factly, her smile growing when she heard Oscars snorts of laughter in the back ground.

"You're not high again are you McKenna?" The other woman replied slowly from the other end of the phone.

Mac snorted out a laugh. "No, actually, I'm not, but thanks for the idea".

This other time Annabeth was referring to happened a couple of months ago, on one of the rare occasions Mac was left alone for more than half an hour. She'd wondered out of the cheap hotel room, to the vending machine around the corner on a quest for any kind of chocolatey goodness, but instead, had discovered a man selling little bags of marijuana. When Annabeth and Oscar had returned to the hotel room twenty minutes later and found her dancing around the room pretending to be a butterfly in only her underwear, using a towel as her "prettyful wings", with the Little Mermaid playing on the small TV in the corner, they'd been shocked. Annabeth was so mad that she didn't talk to Mac or Oscar for two days. Mac because she had been disappointed in her for doing something so reckless. Oscar because instead of telling her off he'd fallen over laughing and told Annabeth not to be an "enjoyer destroyer", he still reckons it's the single best moment of his life so far.

"Just as well for you, remember that you promised me, no more drugs or alcohol for you _ever_ again. We don't want to go back there again McKenna", she scolded lightly.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I remember, I was there when you told me", Mac said drolly, watching her cup of instant noodles in anticipation as they sat in the corner, where they would stay for at least three more minutes, until they were perfectly cooked and the little instructions on the side told her she could eat them. "Where are you?" She asked quietly after a long moment of silence.

A sigh, then, "You know I can't tell you that McKenna".

"Fine", Mac snapped, "why'd you ring then?"

"I just wanted to see how you were doing" she said in a soft tone. "Do you like the new house?" she asked, sounding more excited.

"Well... I'm ok, all things considering. The _Hut_ is fine, it's cute I guess. There's only one thing I hate about it..."

"And what's that?" Annabeth questioned.

"You painted the walls _pink_", she said lowly, hissing the last word. "Not just light pink either. Hot pink. Pink so friggen hot it nearly burns out my retinas every time I look at it!"

"What?" Annabeth said, sounding surprised, "I could've sworn I asked for that room to be painted blue. They must've made a mistake. I don't see why you're so upset though, pinks a nice happy colour".

"You Annabeth, are evil. You did it on purpose, didn't you?" Mac growled angrily.

"I don't know what you're talking about Mac. They must have miss heard me", she said, the smile evident in her voice.

"_Pure evil_", Mac hissed back lowly, "just you wait, I'll have my vengeance".

"Of course you will Mac. Now, tell me about your day?" she asked laughing softly.

And with that Mac launched into a very detailed story about her entire day, including describing the slightly mouldy pizza she'd had for breakfast and lunch, and after Annabeth had scolded her for doing so, she'd assured her it was fine, she'd cut the mouldy bits off first, she wasn't _that_ gross. The discussion lasted for an hour. An hour in which Mac received three lectures, one about the need for her to get out the house and do something called exercise, the second about how proper ladies didn't cuss, which had occurred after Mac had dropped the f-bomb when she'd nearly spilt her instant noodles down her front, and lastly one on eating a proper diet, a diet that didn't only consist of mouldy pizza and noodle cups, but included _vegetables_, did Mac know what vegetables were? Sure she did, she had told an irritated Annabeth, they were the icky bits she always picked off her pizza every night before she ate it. Why the heck would she eat them when she could eat the awesomeness that was skittles?

After a quick chat to Oscar about nothing in particular, Mac had hung up the phone with a small smile on her face and got ready for bed. And as she curled up under the covers and closed her eyes Mac hoped that for just one night the nightmares haunting her sleep would just stay away. Unfortunately, tonight wasn't that night and as the little clock beside her bed struck two, Mac jolted upright, a scream of pure terror ripping through the room and her hands clutching her stomach above the gruesome scar that ran from her belly button to her right hip. Panting heavily she sunk back down into her bed and pulled the covers tighter around her still trembling body and as she squeezed her eyes shut and willed sleep to take her once more, she couldn't help but wish she knew what they were about.


	3. Chapter 3

** Chapter 2**

_Hello again! Well thank you to everyone who read the last chapter. And special thanks to Brumby, mel[dot]wolfgirl and TheNotoriousLIP for reviewing. It was much appreciated, it always makes my day when someone takes the time to review. Also thank you to the people who favourite or added my story to their alerts list =) _

_I don't really like this chapter, I had a lot of trouble writing it, so I don't know what you'll think._

_I'm not SM; therefore I do not own Twilight in any way, shape or form._

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Mac was really high up. Like _really_ high up.

Usually heights didn't bother her, but to her, the churning black water at the bottom made this momentously worse. She may not have been scared of heights but deep water really did it for her. I mean who knew what was down there, under the foaming waves that smacked loudly against the side of the towering cliffs. Mac couldn't believe people actually _jumped_ from here. Whoever they were, they were totally insane. She shuddered as she stepped away from the edge, wrapping her arms tightly around herself.

Judging by the sky, which had been getting progressively darker since this morning, it was going to rain. Again. Mac decided she really should invest in an umbrella; she was getting really sick of getting soaked every time she went outside.

"The cooler people jump from over there, higher up", a voice said casually from behind her. Mac almost fell off the cliff she span around so quickly, but let out a sigh of relief when she saw Leah Clearwater standing behind her, a knowing smirk on her face. "You scare easy", she said, stepping forward closer to the glaring girl.

"Not funny Clearwater", Mac said sharply, "I could have fallen right over the edge, to my watery doom, and it would've been all your fault".

"Drama queen", Leah snorted as Mac walked further back from the edge to stand beside her. "So what brings you here?"

"Boredom" Mac said easily, shrugging her shoulders. "I heard some people at the store talking about crazy idiots' cliff diving from up here, so I came to have a look. No way in hell you'd get me over the edge".

"Only the pussy's jump from down here Mac", Leah said, grinning at the look of complete horror Mac was giving her. "We prefer a little higher up", she said, nodding her head in the direction of the towering cliffs to the right.

"_We?_ We as in including you, as in your one of the crazies who get enjoyment out of throwing their stupid asses off a cliff into those churning waves of doom containing God knows how many creatures waiting to eat you! Are you friggen _NUTS_ Leah?" She asked incredulously.

The she wolf just smirked down at her, "Pussy".

"Crazy", Mac shot back quickly.

Leah looked at the girl standing beside carefully, "I can't believe you're still alive" she said. "I mean, you've been living off nothing but noodle cups and junk foods for three weeks now. It's just not healthy".

It was true, Mac thought. The entire time she'd been in La Push the only things she'd bought from the little store where the older girl worked had been noodle cups, instant pasta and various different sweets. She sighed and shrugged her shoulders before answering, "They are only things that I can safely cook without burning the house down or giving myself food poisoning". Maybe the burning the house down was a slight exaggeration, but she had managed to burn numerous dishes beyond recognition, and she had given herself food poisoning. Twice. Ever since the second time Annabeth had forbidden her from cooking for herself, taking over the job of feeding the "constantly hungry" teenager, which was just fine with Mac by the way.

"You can't be that bad", the older girl asked incredulously.

"Trust me. I am". Mac said sadly, shuddering at the thought of the last time she tried to cook. "It's top on the list of things I cannot do. I mean, after all the near death experiences caused by my cooking, I kinda gave up on the idea. It's just safer this way".

"Don't worry. I'm not much of a cook myself. I can do boiled eggs and pancakes, but that's pretty much it for me", Leah said, chuckling lightly. "So, have you had the grand tour of the reservation yet?"

"Nope", Mac replied popping the "P". "Not that'd it be much of a tour anyway", she added.

"La Push isn't the biggest, most exciting place in the world", she agreed. "But the scenery's beautiful and the coffee shop has _the best_ muffins I have ever tasted in my life", she said, drooling slightly at the thought of Sue Clearwater's triple chocolate muffins. Leah may be an awful cook but nearly everyone on the reservation agreed that Sue Clearwater was the best cook on the place, and the little coffee shop she had started up a couple of years ago was constantly bustling with customers, locals and tourists alike. It had originally been a way to keep her mind off Harry's passing but as it got busier it provided a good income as well as jobs for other members of the pack.

"I do like muffins", Mac said thoughtfully.

Leah smiled down at her happily, flashing Mac her perfect white teeth as she did so. "Grand tour it is then. I have to go into forks to pick up some stuff for my mum today, so is tomorrow cool for you?"

"Hmmmm, let me see", Mac said sarcastically. "Yup, looks like I have nothing planned, um, forever, so tomorrows good".

"Heh. That's really sad Mac", Leah said. "So I-"

Whatever Leah had been about to say was interrupted by a piercing howl, which sounded way to close for Mac's comfort and made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up on end.

Leah rolled her eyes before continuing, "I'll see you tomorrow, I'll meet you at yours at about 11. I gotta go, Mom will kill me if I'm late". She gave Mac a little wave before running off down the small wooded path that led away from the cliffs, leaving Mac alone in the clearing.

Mac smiled to herself, and after a few minutes of staring over the cliffs into the thundering surf, she too started down the small track on her way home. She didn't hear any wolves again but she couldn't help the feeling that she was being watched, and deciding that she would rather not end up being lunch for a pack of hungry wolves, ended up running as fast as she could the entire way back to the relative safety of her hut.

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As soon as she was out of sight the Leah Clearwater removed her shirt and cut off denim shorts, tying them to the rubber strap around her ankle before letting the fire spread down her spine as she phased. She was barely even wolf for 3 seconds before Jakes voice popped annoyingly into her head. The She Wolf was pretty sure that the Alpha was over reacting, she'd been gone for 5 minutes, tops, and the Pup had been fine, if anything had gone wrong, she was right there, he could've howled.

The Alpha sighed tiredly, _"that's beside the point Leah, I don't want any of the Pups patrolling alone, they're too young and you're suppose to be a role model for them", _he thought, his disapproval rolling over her.

She flinched. No one in the pack liked it when the Alpha was disappointed in them, she was glad they had been a wolves long enough to keep this conversation from the Pup she was patrolling with. "_It won't happen again_", she thought to him grudgingly, not really in the mood to get into an argument with the Alpha, pushing herself faster as she sped around the reservations border.

It didn't take long until she heard heavy paws hitting the ground up in front of her. Leah was still the fastest member of the pack and it didn't take her long to catch up to the younger, newer pack members. She slowed beside the dark grey wolf and gave him a wolfish grin before she roughly bumped her shoulder into his. He gave her his own wolfy grin, his tongue lolling out the side of his mouth as he picked up his pace, running ahead of her. She snorted in amusement at the younger wolfs attempts in racing her, she thought he was going to have to do better than that if he wanted to beat her, he may be one of the faster wolves, but he was still no match for Leah. If she was human she would have laughed at his annoyance as she easily breezed past him.

"_Told ya kid",_ she thought from her place 10 meters in front of the younger wolf. "_You're fast Ollie, but not that fast"._

He growled in irritation but gave her a fond look as he fell in beside her again once she'd slowed down. "_One day_", he vowed quietly.

It was no secret among the pack that Ollie had a soft spot for the third, and the packs only She Wolf. The pup had real trust issues and was finding it hard to fit in with the rest of the pack, but he had taken a liking to Leah. He had a bit of an anger problem, and it had been causing him trouble at both home and school. As a result the temperamental young wolf was only allowed to patrol under the supervision of one of the top 3 wolves, and with Jake, the Alpha, and Seth, the Beta, usually busy with pack business, the job had been given to Leah to be his "role model". That was just fine with her, he might be a little twerp but it was nice having some company on patrols and he was usually so quiet she didn't notice him anyway.

And so that's how the rest of the days patrol continued, mostly in a comfortable silence and apart from Ollie tripping once on his oversized paws, sending him head first into a group of bushes, and Leah into a round of hysterics, the rest day was relatively uneventful.

* * *

Jake quickly pulled on his shorts and walked briskly back into the meeting house, where his young Beta and the 5 council members were awaiting his return. Leah had been patrolling with Ollie today, and since the youngest wolf had been having some trouble adjusting he liked to check in and see how the kid was doing. He'd had it rough, not that it wasn't hard for any members of the pack, but Ollie had had a rougher upbringing than the rest of them. His father was an alcoholic, and once Ollie's mom passed away when he was about ten, there was no one to stop his father from beating the crap out of him whenever he felt like it. His upbringing was probably why he was having so much trouble now; the kid didn't want anyone in his head. Jake was sure that it was the young wolfs early life that was the reason he was so volatile now, the kid was worse than Paul had ever been. In fact, was so bad that they were meeting with the tribal council to talk about keeping the kid off school for a few more months, or at least until he could control himself. The way he was he was a liability, a danger to those around him and a danger to his pack.

Jake sighed loudly, rubbing a tired hand over his face before walking back into the meeting house. Time to get this over with.

* * *

The sun was out today. That had been McKenna's first thought when she finally opened her eyes at 10:45. Her second was more along the lines of oh crap, its 10:45. I have 15 minutes to get ready or Leah is going to kick my ass. Mac hadn't known the other girl very long, but she knew enough about her to know that Leah Clearwater would be pissed if she had to wait on her, and that a pissed off Leah was a very bad thing. Mac always talked to her when she went on her little expeditions to the store where the older girl worked, and she'd like to think that they'd bonded.

So it took Mac exactly eleven and a half minutes to choke down her cereal and pull on a pair of dark skinny jeans and a white T-shirt. She'd just finished running a brush through her dark tangled hair when she heard a car pull up outside. And by the time Leah had walked up the path and knocked roughly on the door she'd brushed her teeth and was in the kitchen tying the laces on her favourite blue chucks.

"So where to first el Capitano?" Mac asked as she hopped into the passenger's side of Leah's little silver coloured car.

Leah hummed thoughtfully before answering, "First beach, it'd be best to go there while the suns still out, it probably won't last long. Then we'll see from there. As long as we make it to the cafe before twelve thirty, otherwise all the triple chocolate muffins will have gone and I've been hanging out for one of those since yesterday", she explained as she started up the car and pulled out into the street.

Mac didn't really see why they were driving, La Push wasn't that big. But Leah had explained to her that she'd felt in a driving mood, but if Mac really wanted to then she was quite welcome to walk. Leah would meet her there. Mac shut up pretty quick after that.

She liked First beach. It was peaceful and even on a sunny day like today there weren't many people around. She liked how the sand felt between her toes as she walked and listen to Leah talk about her mother and brother in response to a question she'd asked. She liked the numerous pieces of drift wood that littered the shoreline, some big and some small, but all polished smooth by the waves that were crashing noisily on to the beach.

Mac had especially liked the rock pools. The water wasn't deep enough to be scary; it was so shallow that she could look in and watch in wonder as all the little crabs that lived in them scuttled around happily. Well at least Mac assumed they were happy.

Leah quickly showed Mac where the tiny jewellery shop was and pointed out the tribal council buildings as they drove towards the cafe.

"I need to get like a hobby or something", Mac stated randomly as they drove.

"You look like the type of person who would really enjoy knitting" Leah said sarcastically.

"You'd be surprised how often I hear that", Mac replied, her tone equally sarcastic. "Maybe I should get a puppy, that would keep me busy, and then I could teach it nifty tricks". She made a mental note to ask Annabeth about it the next time she rang, she had always wanted a puppy, and it would give her something to do, walking it and training it. Plus it was very lonely in her little hut all by herself; a puppy would make great company.

Leah just gave her a strange look as they pulled into the small car park. "If there are no muffins left, I'm blaming you for taking so long staring at those crabs on the beach" Leah said as she all but leapt from the car.

The cafe was bigger than she expected, but that was probably just as well because the place was really busy with people coming in to buy their lunch before heading back out to work. The woman at the register gave them a warm smile as they approached, her eyes lingering on McKenna a moment before settling on the older girl in front of her, who was staring with a look of mixed horror and anger at the muffin display, where there were no longer any triple chocolate muffins.

"Don't look so upset Leah", the woman behind the counter chuckled softly. "I knew you were coming in today so I saved you some", she said smiling prettily at them both as she pulled a paper bag out from under the counter.

Leah smiled happily taking the bag from the woman's hand, "thanks Mom", she said before wondering over to a table and sitting down.

"And what can I get you dear?" Sue Clearwater asked, turning her motherly gaze onto Mac, who was currently staring in shock at Leah who just eaten one of the six muffins that were in the bag in 2 bites, and given the large size of them, it was no easy accomplishment.

"Ahhh, just a hot chocolate please", Mac answered.

"Ok dear, take a seat and I'll bring it over to you" she said as she handed Mac her change.

Mac slowly made her way over to the table, where Leah was making short work of her muffins, having already eaten three of them, and sat down.

"Soooo..." She started awkwardly. "You really like them muffins, huh?"

Leah just nodded absently, more focused on the forth muffin she was shoving into her mouth.

Mac slumped back in her chair and continued to watch Leah polish off the rest of her muffins. It wasn't long before Sue Clearwater appeared at their table with a cup of hot chocolate, which, to Macs delight, contained two marshmallows, which were bobbing around inside the steaming cup.

"Here you go", the older woman said as she took a seat beside her daughter and the empty muffin bag.

"Thank You Mrs Clearwater", she said cheerily, sipping at the hot liquid carefully trying not burn her tongue, but failing in her eagerness.

The woman smiled warmly, "call me Sue dear, and you must be Mac, am I right?"

"Yup, that's me", she said returning the smile with one of her own.

Sue Clearwater was kind. After a ten minute conversation with her, that much was obvious. Mac now knew several embarrassing stories about a younger Leah that made Mac laugh and Leah groan and cover her face in humiliation. She knew that her son, Leah's brother, Seth was in high school, and in his final year. She also knew that if he failed, Sue was going to kill him. Leah had 20 bucks on him failing, she informed her, earning her a disapproving look from her mother and a lecture about how it was wrong to bet on her brother's possible failure.

"Aren't you going to order anything to eat?" Leah ask Mac glancing Macs empty cup.

"Na I'm not really hungry yet", she replied shrugging her shoulders. "I'll just have noodles or something when I get home".

"Again? You're going to have more noodles?" Leah asked, shaking her head. "You're going to turn into a noodle if you keep this up", she said, giving her a slightly worried look.

"Aren't your parents going to cook you tea dear?" Sue asked, shooting Mac a worried look.

"Oh, um, no I live alone", Mac answered sadly, but still giving Sue her best smile. "My parents are... overseas, dad's job means they travel a lot so they're not home very often".

"You live alone?" Sue asked incredulously. "A girl your age shouldn't be living in a little house like that by herself, especially in a place where she doesn't know anyone at all", she said angrily. Pausing her rant momentarily and looked at Mac thoughtfully, it wasn't right for her parents to leave her alone like this, she was old enough to look after herself, she had told Sue she was 19 after all, but being so young and living in a new town where you knew know one at all. Sue thought she must get lonely, and it was obvious the poor thing couldn't cook to save herself. This idea was reinforced when Leah added in that all Mac had bought from the store in the last three weeks had been instant meals.

Sue Clearwater looked back at Mac and smiled her frown gone from her face. "You can't live off instant noodles, Mac, it's not healthy", she said giving Mac her best motherly look. "We're having lasagne for dinner and I think it'd be nice if you joined us".

"Ahhh... I.. don't no, I don't want to be a bother.", Mac stuttered as she looked at Leah who nodded at her and smiled at her in encouragement.

"You won't be a bother Mac, and I won't take no for answer", she said sternly, giving Mac a look that stopped her from arguing any further as she stood up and walked back towards the counter. "Leah will take you with her when she goes home ok? I'll see you at dinner time girls".

Today Mac learned that not only was Sue Clearwater a very kind woman, but when she wanted to be, she was could also be scary as hell.

* * *

Seth Clearwater had actually been having a good day so far. His mom had made waffles for breakfast, which happened to be his favourite. He only had the first half of the night shift tonight, meaning he would actually get some sleep, he had the whole day free, and maybe best of all, both of the Fantastic Four movies were playing today, and what was better than Jessica Alba in Blue spandex? Seth was pretty sure there wasn't anything much better than that. Except maybe his mothers chocolate cake, even then it was still a pretty big maybe.

He sighed contentedly as he spooned another scoop of the now melting vanilla ice cream into his mouth. Yup today was defiantly a good day. That was what he had been thinking when he heard his sisters car turn down there street and start driving towards their house. He threw his head back against the couch and groaned loudly, she wasn't supposed to be back until later, it was only just after lunch, and his movie was just getting to the good part where the Fantastic Four battled the Silver Surfer. If Leah made him change the channel, he was going to be pissed.

When the car stopped in the drive way Seth paused, another scoop of ice-cream half way to his mouth, as he heard two doors slam he cocked his head and listened there were two people walking towards the house. His mom must have finished work early he thought, sometimes when it wasn't busy Emily and Kim finished up for the day, and Sue would go home to cook tea for her two ever hungry teenage wolves. But it was only two and that was too early for her to be finished. He leaned back on the couch so he could see the door, Leah walked in first wearing dark jeans and a white tank top, but the girl that followed was defiantly not his mother. She had porcelain white skin and dark chocolate brown hair which hung half way down her back, Seth thought she looked slightly uncomfortable. He would've paid more attention, but at that moment the ice-cream decided that it really didn't want to be eaten and it would much rather create a sticky mess all over Seth's shirt. He swore lightly as he looked down at the vanillary goodness that was now dribbling a sticky path down his shirt, he sighed sadly and headed towards his room, to change his shirt, it was such a waste of good ice-cream.

Mac was standing awkwardly in the door way. She really didn't want to be here, she wasn't good with people, never had been, and she'd be lying if she said that she wasn't nervous as hell. She had hardly talked to anyone other than Annabeth and Oscar in the last year and Leah was the first friend she'd had in a long time. Well Mac thought they were friends, she hoped they were friends. Leah had said they could watch a movie until it was time for dinner that was if her stupid brother wasn't hogging the TV. Mac sighed and swept her hair out of her face.

"I really feel like pancakes", Leah stated as she dropped her car keys on the bench. "You want some?"

Mac was a little shocked that Leah was still hungry, after all she had just devoured six rather large muffins but if Leah was making them then she wasn't complaining. Pancakes were miles better than instant noodles. Leah agreed, there weren't many things better than pancakes, but chocolate pancakes were especially good.

Mac smiled, "chocolate makes everything better. Um Leah, could I use the bathroom please? I'm seriously gunna burst if I don't get to one soon, and no matter how nice your Mom was I really don't think she'd appreciate the mess", she asked quickly.

"Yeah you're probably right..." Leah smirked at her, "It's down the hall to the right".

Mac smiled gratefully before running in the direction Leah had indicated.

Mac sighed happily as she walked slowly out of the bathroom. Her hands now smelling all citrusy fresh, she was really going to have to get some of this she thought as she closed the bathroom door behind her. This stuff was _awesome. _Mac turned around to head back towards the kitchen and the pancakes, hopefully chocolate pancakes, but instead she got distracted by the half naked guy standing in the doorway opposite the bathroom and she forgot all about the possibly chocolate pancakes and was instead to busy perving at the best looking guy she'd ever seen. After ogling his chest for a good couple of seconds, Mac realised the guy with the really nice abs had to be Leah's little ahh... Well Mac didn't think little was really the right word to describe the extremely tall muscle bound young man standing in front of her so let's just go with younger, Leah's younger brother Seth, it took her a couple more seconds and an awkward cough from Seth for Mac to realise that he was looking at her too, and that this was possibly the most awkward moment of her life. She blushed furiously as she looked up at his face, which was smirking down at her, his chocolaty brown eyes sparking in amusement.

Mac stared at him and he stared back. This was defiantly the most awkward moment of her life. He blinked and took a small step forward as the smile slid from his face and was replaced by one of confusion, and as his eyes fluttered shut he started to fall. His head connected with the door frame as he fell towards the floor and he hit the ground with a loud thud, landing on his face, and Mac just stood there. She stood there and looked in shock at the possibly dead boy on the ground, _what the hell just happened?_

Oh my God, she'd killed Leah's brother, well, at least she thought he was dead, she wasn't sure.

"Ahhh Leah", Mac yelled as she dropped to her knees beside Seth, who still wasn't moving. "I think I killed your brother, but it was an accident I _swear_".

"What?" The very confused Leah asked as she left the kitchen and walked towards her brother's room, where Macs slightly frantic voice was coming from. When she entered the room she froze, Seth was lying in the ground, face down, she had to admit he did kinda look dead with his face all smushed up like that, and Leah may have panicked if it wasn't for the fact that she could hear him breathing loudly from the doorway, not only that but with her wolf hearing she could hear his heart beating away in his chest as he lay unconscious on the floor.

"He's not dead Mac", Leah said as she kicked him none too gently in the arm, causing him to groan and his hand to twitch, "see?" she added cheerily, "not dead".

"He dented the door frame with his fucking head Leah. Maybe we should call an ambulance?" Mac said, still sounding worried as she began to attempt to roll him off his face and onto his back, Leah sighed and used her foot to help Mac turn the big lug over.

Then Leah's phone rang. "Hold on Mac I better take this. Don't worry about him though", she added as she flipped open her phone, "He has a hard head. He does stupid stuff like this all the time, trust me".

"Hey Jake", Leah said into the phone. "... Na, he's fine. I think."... "Ahh I'm not sure hold on..."

"Mac what the _hell_ happened?" she asked as she turned back towards her.

"I don't know. He was just standing there... And I looked at him and then he fell. _I don't fucking know_ _Leah_", She answered from the floor where she was still crouching beside Seth, poking him in the arm in attempts to wake him up.

Leah put the phone back to her head, looking slightly pissed off. "It looks like it, if he did, I'm going to kill him", Leah snarled into the phone... "Just get your ass over here".

"Come on Mac, we're leaving I'll grab the movies and we'll watch them at your house", Leah snapped as she left the room.

When Leah walked back into the room a second time and gave her a look that said she better move her ass now Mac stood up. "And leave him like this? Are you crazy?" Mac asked, stunned.

"Look, he does this all the time..." She hesitated, "It's a rare kind of syndrome, and we just have to let him sleep it off. Jake will be here to look after him in a few minutes any way, _now let's go Mac_", Leah said calmly as she left the room again, this time with a thoroughly confused Mac following uncertainly behind her.

Mac wasn't sure what to do. She hated leaving him like this, it felt wrong, but he was Leah's brother and Mac guessed she knew best. Even so she couldn't help but worry about him all the way back to her hut; she had a weird feeling in her gut that made her feel uneasy. Mac sighed and tried to ignore it as she wondered inside, leaving Leah to set the movies in the living room as she went into the kitchen to make the popcorn. Once done she headed back into the living room and plopped down beside Leah. They didn't talk, Leah ate most the popcorn and all Mac could think about for the entire movie was Seth Clearwater lying unconscious on the floor of his bedroom. Needles to say Mac didn't really watch the movie; she was too busy trying to calm the sick feeling in the pit of her stomach.

* * *

**Please review =)**


	4. Chapter 4

_Hello! Thank you for reading and please review! _

**Chapter 3**

Leah was pissed. He could feel it, he couldn't blame her though, the only friend that she had that wasn't pack and her brother probably just imprinted on her. He couldn't think of anything else that would cause his Beta to pass out like a girl, Jake was almost sure that Seth had imprinted but he couldn't be certain until the Seth finally woke up.

When he arrived at the Clearwater's Leah and her friend had already left, leaving a very unconscious Seth alone on the ground in his bedroom. Jake tried unsuccessfully to wake the younger wolf up and after yelling at him for ten minutes straight he decided to try a different tactic. Unfortunately for the unconscious Clearwater it involved a bucket full of icy cold water. He wasn't gunna lie; he was actually looking forward to this. He sighed happily, giving his friend one more gentle kick in the shoulder before dumping the entire bucket over Seth's face.

And as soon as the freezing water hit his face Seth jolted awake with a squeal. To be fair it was a very manly squeal, but manly or not, it was still a squeal, and real men didn't squeal. He looked at his Alpha, who was currently rolling around on the floor in hysterics, and glared at him as he tried to wipe some of the water off his face.

"What the hell man?" he yelled at Jake angrily, "My Mom's going to kill you and I'm not cleaning this shit up".

Jake, who had mostly managed to stop laughing looked up at him and smiled cheerfully "It was worth it, you squealed like a girl dude. You sounded more girly than Claire does when Quil doesn't want to play Barbie's with her ", the memory off this embarrassingly girly squeal caused Jake to burst out laughing again, tears rolling down his cheeks as he fell to the ground once more.

Seth was mildly offended that his alpha was getting so much enjoyment out of his pain, he would have thought that as his best friend and alpha he would have a certain amount of sympathy for his situation. His mom was going to kill him for the head sized dint he created in the door frame when he'd fallen, not only that Leah was going to be pissed when she got home. Seth may be the Beta now but Leah was still his big sister and when she wanted to be she was scary as hell. It didn't take much to get Leah to that level of angry, after all she had always been a bit of a hot head, Seth was sure that imprinting on her only non pack friend would take her to this level and way beyond. He froze as his fuzzy memories became clearer, wait a minute. He'd imprinted. He Seth Clearwater had imprinted. He looked at Jake in panic. "I imprinted... Jake ... _I imprinted_", he said, his voice raising as his situation started to sink in.

"I thought so... Man, Leah's gunna kill you", Jake said starting to sound more like his Alpha again as he stopped laughing and stood up off the ground, his voice becoming serious once more.

"I know", Seth groaned out as he rubbed his hand through is short hair. "Where are they?" He asked cocking his head and listening for anyone else in the house. He knew, even without listening, that she wasn't in the house anymore. She wasn't far away though, still on the reservation, it was the only reason he wasn't panicking yet. He may not know her very well, at all actually, but that didn't mean he wanted her to run off before he even got to officially met her, to get a chance with his imprint.

Imprinting was different for every wolf. For Jared and Kim it was love at first sight, all rainbows and buttercups, Jake thought that it could have something to do with the fact that when Jared imprinted, Kim was already in love with him and had been for awhile. It hadn't been as easy for Sam and Emily, Sam was unstable and a lone wolf and when he imprinted it gave him something to hope for, someone to treasure, but it had definitely not been easy for him to gain Emily's trust and win her heart. Quil and Claire had had it relatively easy so far, they were best friends and Quil was like a older brother to her, Embry always found great amusement in the fact that Quil was willing to do almost _anything_ to keep the bubbly little girl happy, including playing with dolls for hours and wearing all sorts of ridiculous outfits and brightly coloured make up.

It wasn't love at first sight for Seth; he couldn't love someone he knew absolutely nothing about. For Seth it was more like something was gently pulling him in her direction like a cord attached the two, and if he concentrated enough on the spot within him that was joined to her, that had become hers the moment his wolf chosen her as their mate, then he could feel the gentle swirl of her emotions. Seth knew from his pack brothers who'd already imprinted that as the pair grew closer the bond between them would strengthen allowing him to feel his imprints emotions more clearly. Right now she felt uneasy like she was worried about something and that fact annoyed him more than he was willing to admit.

"I wouldn't know. They're not far, so maybe over at her house", Jake suggested as he started to head towards the Clearwater kitchen to search for some Sues famous baking. "If I was you I wouldn't go over there right now, I haven't felt Leah this angry in a while", he added casually as he rummaged through the cabinets where Sue usually hid her baking, making a happy noise in his throat when he found a container hidden in the far corner of the cupboard. The Alpha wiggled his eyebrows at the Beta as he peeled back the lid revealing his favourite chocolate chip cookies. He smiled happily to himself before inhaling half of the chocolate chip cookies, Seth demolishing the other half. He figured his mom was going to be mad at him anyway so he might as well get some cookies out of it.

Jake sighed contentedly before standing and heading towards the door, he was the Alpha after all and he had stuff to do, he was supposed to be over at Pauls ten minutes ago to reorganise the patrol schedule. School was starting up again soon and Jake wanted the pups to pass, God knows that Sue Clearwater would skin Seth alive if he failed. He gave the Beta a small wave and told him he'd see him tonight for patrol before running off into the forest behind the house to phase.

Seth sighed tiredly and wondered back over to the couch to plan out his next move, picking up the now melted tub of ice-cream on the floor as he slouched down onto the welcoming cushions. Jake was right about Leah, she was going to murder him and dump his mangled corpse somewhere up in the mountains where nobody would ever find him. He shuddered at the thought as he attempted to spoon the ice-cream into his mouth, setting it down after several attempts with a frustrated growl. Unfortunately for the ice-cream Seth Clearwater was not one to give up easily and after contemplating the situation he came up with a brilliant idea, sometimes he was pretty sure he was a genius. After several moments of figuring out the dynamics of his plan he brought the container up to his mouth, tipping it back and draining it completely before setting it back on the ground beside him. Now if he could only figure out what to do about his other problem.

He had absolutely no idea what to do. He had to imprint on the only girl Leah had befriended in years. The entire pack new Leah's feeling on imprinting she hated everything about it and Seth couldn't blame her, his sister had had it rough when it came to imprinting. When the packs had rejoined again Leah had had to get over her hostility to Sam, it had taken her a while but eventually her bitter attitude mostly vanished and even though she and Emily weren't as close as they'd used to be, the two were back on talking terms. Seth however had always wanted an imprint, it was supposed to be a rare occurrence, but he'd always been scared that once he decided to settle down and got married, he'd imprint and he never wanted to do that to anyone. His sister had taken years to recover, she'd been so _broken_ after Sam had left her, she spent months in her room, crying herself to sleep at nights and when she'd finally emerged, she was a shell of her former self. He was relieved that it'd finally happened for him. Now he just had to convince Leah that this was a good thing but that was a job easier said than done.

* * *

Mac loved scary movies, she thought they were hilarious. There was something about fake blood and crappy costumes that cracked her up. It's just after some of the things she'd seen, and the bloody nightmares she had to live through every night, things that used to scare her seemed a little pathetic. Leah was thrilled that she had finally found someone who shared her passion for horror films, the she wolf loved them. Werewolf movies were a personal favourite of hers; much to her disappointment none of the other pack members would watch them with her. Even though they weren't really werewolves, they still found it mildly offensive. Leah on the other hand thought they were absolutely uproarious and they never failed to cheer her up when she was in a foul mood.

There were very few things that a horror movie marathon couldn't fix for Leah, but unfortunately this was one of them. She'd finally found a friend that had nothing to do with anything pack and her brother had to go fricken imprint on her. The only good thing she could think of was that at least it wasn't Embry. She loved Em, like she loved all of her pack brothers, but Embry was a bit of a ladies' man. She'd patrolled with him a couple of weeks ago and since then she'd made a point not to think about Mac while patrolling, there were just some things one didn't need to see. Leah had liked having someone to be normal with, more normal than exploding into a giant fur ball on a regular basis anyway. She had liked having someone to talk about normal girly things with, things that didn't involve patrols and leeches breaking the boarder. Sometimes even Leah Clearwater wanted to feel girly.

She had wanted to keep her only non pack friend exactly that, non pack. So much for that idea.

When Leah had stalled as long as she could, she sighed unhappily and threw a piece of popcorn at Mac's currently upside down head as she lay draped across the couch her feet on the head rest and her head on the floor.

"Ouch", Mac groaned, as the offending popcorn connected with the end of her slightly red nose. People weren't meant to be upside down for extended periods of time, hence Mac's unusually red face.

"Time to go Mac, Mom will kill us if we're late", she said as she hauled herself off her couch and headed towards the door.

"Yeah' I'm coming. Give me a minute", Mac yelled from her spot on the couch.

Leah paused and watched in amusement as Mac stretched her tongue out towards the piece of popcorn that was sitting on the ground in front of her ever reddening face. It took her three minutes and a lot of stretching but eventually her tongue reached the popcorn and dragged it into her mouth with a satisfying crunch. Her revenge complete she rolled off the couch with a thud, she grinned up at Leah who was still watching her from her spot near the door.

"Ew Mac, floor popcorn" Leah said, her tone mildly disgusted.

"Three minute rule Leah", she smiled at the older girl and dusted herself off as she stood up.

"It's three seconds Mac..."

"Huh", Mac smiled awkwardly as she followed Leah out of the house. "Who knew?"

"Everyone", Leah answered shaking her head in amusement. "Apparently not you though", she said as she hopped into her car. Needless to say the short drive to the Clearwater's house was spent in near silence.

When Mac walked into the Clearwater house for the second time today she was unprepared for the motherly greeting Sue gave her, big bear hugs included. Sue Clearwater was small but damn that woman was strong. After the hug Mac had been dragged into the living room and told to sit down, where she was properly introduced to Seth. Mac had been wrong earlier, this was the most awkward moment of her life. It was promptly followed by the most awkward conversation of her life.

"I'm Seth", he said sticking out his hand to her. "We kinda met earlier, but you might not recognise me, ya know with my shirt on and all" he added grinning hugely at her as her cheeks to blushed a flaming red colour.

"Well I'm McKenna", she replied taking his hand in her own and shaking it gently. His hand was roasting hot and she wondered if he was sick. If so she didn't want his nasty sick germs. "And I remember you but I'm surprised you recognise me, what with the last time we met you eating floor and cracking your head something brilliant. I thought you might have forgotten, hard knocks to the head do that to people you know".

This time it was Seth's turn to blush, he was a little embarrassed about looking like such a girl in front of his imprint He doubted Jake would ever let him live this down. He smiled at her, noticing the suspicious look she was shooting his hand. "It's a genetic condition, a lot of us on the rez have it. It's nothing to worry about".

"Oh... I see", Mac said uncomfortably, still blushing slightly. Mac was thankful that Leah chose that moment to strut into the lounge. The She wolf made her way over to the couch where the two were sitting giving her brother a meaningful look before wriggling in between them, earning herself an annoyed look and a light growl from Seth and an appreciative look from Mac who'd been hoping that the floor might get hungry and decide to swallow her up, saving her from anymore humiliation.

"So little brother, how was your day?" Leah asked nonchalantly, kicking her feet up onto the coffee table.

Seth gave his sister a cool look before answering. "Fine, confusing, definitely not what I thought it was gunna be. It wasn't really my fault, I didn't ask for it to happen". Seth turned his gaze to Mac, his eyes lingering on her meaningfully before returning to his sister.

Mac felt like she was missing something, Leah was really mad at Seth but she had no idea why. And the way Seth's gaze kept flickering to her made her feel more than a little uncomfortable. Mac absolutely _hated_ not knowing what was going on. She sighed irritably and tried to ignore the bickering siblings beside her, instead focusing her attention on the watching the TV, Sponge Bob Square Pants was on and after ten minutes of watching the show Mac was sure that the little yellow sponge's creepy little laugh would haunt her nightmares for the rest of her life.

Seth and Leah were continuing their glaring match at the dinner table. Mac still wasn't sure why they were glaring at each other, but she could tell that Leah was kicking her brothers but down town and back. He didn't have a very good glare; Leah on the other hand had one of the most truly terrifying glares Mac had even seen. It was so impressive that it rivalled Annabeth's glare that she saved up for special Mac telling off occasions, she'd only seen it twice and as far as she was concerned that was enough to last her a life time. Poor Seth had obviously not inherited the same glaring gene as Leah and if Mac had to guess, she was willing to bet that Sue Clearwater's glare would best both of the siblings combined. Mac was impressed that despite the fact that neither of the siblings had broken eye contact since they sat down at the dinner table ten minutes ago, they were both still able to destroy the food in front of them in record time.

"So Mac, how do you like La Push so far?" Sue asked, managing to sound pleasant despite the warning look she was shooting her oblivious children.

"Well it's better than the last place I lived, that's for sure", Mac replied wrinkling her nose as she thought of the run down little house she'd lived in with Annabeth and Oscar before they decided to ditch her here. "It's pretty I guess, nice and green", she added giving Sue a small smile before scooping another forkful of lasagne into her mouth and turning her attention back to the Clearwater death match she was sure that was brewing.

Sue sighed audibly before growling out a threat to both of her children that if they didn't stop this nonsense _right now _she was withholding all baked goods for two months. She didn't know what their problem was but they had a guest and she had raised them to be more polite than this. Mac pouted sadly as Seth and Leah both dropped their eyes to their nearly empty plates, Leah muttering quietly under her breath.

Mac had never been one to think before she spoke, if people didn't like what she had to say, they could stick it. Right now, she was seriously regretting that motto.

"I don't mind", Mac chirped happily, swallowing her mouthful of lasagne. "I thought it was mighty entertaining, I had my money on Leah. I was kinda hoping for a little more action though, I'm all for impromptu death matches. They're very entertaining. I don't think it would have lasted very long, because if Seth's fighting abilities are anything like his glare then Leah would've eaten him for breakfast".

Leah grinned at her, Seth pouted sadly, obviously hurt that his imprint thought that he would fight like a girl and Sue gave her a look that caused her to shut her mouth and lower her eyes to the table

"... No death match then." Mac told her lasagne sadly, picking up her fork and finishing her food quickly.

It was that exact moment Macs phone decided to go off. Mac was pretty sure Sue wouldn't want her over for dinner again anytime soon. That was a real shame, normal food tasted so much better than instant noodles. Not only had Mac just broken Sues number one dinner time rule, no cell phones at the table, the fact that her new ring tone was My Humps by the Black Eyed Peas and was blasting at full volume for fifteen seconds before Mac managed it rip it from her pocket and excuse herself from the table. Everyone in the room now knew exactly what Fergie was going to do with all that ass.

"Oscar, this really isn't a good time, so this better be important", she hissed into the phone, feeling Sues gaze on the back of her head as she spoke.

"I'm offended Mac, time spent talking to me, the most awesome person to ever walk the earth, should always be considered important", Mac was pretty sure he was smirking right now, he loved to annoy her. No one could make her as mad as Oscar could and he took great delight in this fact, using it to his advantage whenever possible. "Why's it not a good time?" he asked happily. He was defiantly smirking.

"Because I'm not at home right now. I'm doing exactly what you told me to do, I'm attempting to make friends and you mister just made an already awkward situation a whole lot worse, so thanks a bunch", Mac snapped irritably.

"I missed you and that temper of yours kid", He chuckled happily from the other end of the line.

"Whatever you do a-hole. You were glad you got rid of me so you could get your freak on with Annabeth, and don't you Kid me old man I'm nineteen not six", Mac said, trying to hold her angry tone despite the small smile playing on her lips.

"Ouch Mac, your words hurt me. I'm not that old and I think that nineteen is still an appropriate age to be called a kid, when you reach twenty one then we'll talk. And unfortunately Annabeth isn't very receptive, we don't really have much time for getting our freak on anyway", he said sighing sadly.

"Man that sucks" Mac replied merrily, "now, I got things to see people to do, so I'll catch you later. Give me a jingle in a couple of hours and we'll chat then".

He snorted, "if you're lucky. I'm a busy guy you know, but for you, I'll try", he said and with that he hung up before she could. Jerk.

Mac glared at the phone a bit before the itching on the back of her head reminded her that she was in fact supposed to be at the dinner table. She spun around and shot Sue a disarming smile, "sorry, apparently he doesn't understand the concept of busy", she said, taking her place at the table once more.

"So, that your boyfriend Mac?" Leah asked happily, wiggling her eyebrows.

The question caused everyone at the table to look at her expectantly. Leah was still smirking at her sardonically. Mac couldn't help the snorts of laughter that escaped. The idea of her and Oscar together actually grossed her out a little, besides she knew the poor guy had the hots for Annabeth, you'd have to be blind not to notice. "Ew no. Definitely not my boyfriend, we're just friends", she said, wrinkling up her nose. "Sometimes we're mortal enemies, he can be very annoying", she added matter of factly.

Leah chuckled, "mortal enemies huh?"

Mac nodded vigorously, "Yup, sometimes, when he annoys me enough, I throw various objects at him for the hell of it. I haven't actually managed to hit him yet... But when I do, it'll be a good day for sure".

Seth was starting to think he might have imprinted on a crazy person, strangely he'd be ok with this. His imprint was oddly amusing, emphasis on the _odd_. Leah was making this situation a lot harder than it had to be. She had been muttering curses at him right through dinner, his mom and Mac couldn't hear the constant string of threats and cusses that his sister was directing at him, but with his wolfy hearing he could hear them in perfect clarity. He was pretty sure that he had a bruise on his shin from where Leah had been kicking him every time he looked in Macs direction or tried to start a conversation with her. He didn't blame Leah for being annoyed but he thought she was being slightly immature about the whole situation. Seth sighed mournfully before leaning back in his chair, balancing on two legs, he had patrol in an hour but there was no way he was leaving without dessert which was currently baking in the oven.

"Seth!" his mother's angry voice brought him from his thoughts, "A chair has four legs for a reason". She scolded. People swinging on their chairs was Sues pet hate, she didn't know why but it really annoyed her especially at the dinner table.

"Yeah Seth, jeez", Mac said under her breath, shooting him a matching disapproving look. Luckily for her Sue didn't hear her sarcastic remark, Seth and Leah on the other hand did. Seth gave her a small smile and a wink, causing her to blush, Leah just shook her head, Mac of course, didn't see the swift kick Seth's shin received in retribution.

The rest of the dinner went relatively smoothly. Everyone demolished their dessert, especially Mac, what with her sweet tooth and all. Seth had been surprised that she'd nearly beaten Leah and him finished, when he'd told her so she'd laughed and admitted to having a bit of a sweet tooth.

Leah thought that was a bit of an under exaggeration considering every time Leah saw Mac she was usually eating some kind of candy. So what? Maybe Mac did have a mild addiction to all things sugary and sweet, everyone should just be glad that it was only sweets that she was addicted to because she was pretty sure the world couldn't handle a constantly high Mac. Leah agreed, that was one scary thought and she was weird enough as it was she didn't need any drugs to fuel the situation, that's for sure.

When it was time to leave for patrol Seth sighed and put the dish towel down on the bench. It was his turn to dry the dishes and Leah was washing, Mac had offered to do them but Sue had informed her that as the guest she was forbidden from participating, so as the two Clearwater's cleaned Mac had sat watching happily from her perch on the bench. She was chatting away to Leah about her favourite movies of all time, apparently she was a horror fan. Seth was starting to see why she got on so well with Leah. He wasn't sure if that was a good thing or something to be worried about. He was leaning towards the something to be worried about theory.

Over the course of dinner Seth had developed a game plan. Mac was Leah's friend but Seth's imprint and as far as he was concerned imprint trumped friend any day. He was going to give Leah some time and space, a lot of space actually, to get used to the fact that Seth had in fact imprinted on her friend, he knew that Leah had wanted to keep her away from pack but it was a bit late for that now. He'd leave her alone for now, which was hard for him being a newly imprinted wolf, he wanted to learn as much about her as he could, but soon Leah was going to have to get over it and learn to share.

"I'm... Ah.. Going over to Jakes, I'll be back later", Seth informed the room. "It was nice to meet you Mac", he said, winking at her as he ruffled Leah's hair. He dodged the punch that she aimed at him and slipped out the door, giving them a little wave as he did.

Seth grinned to himself as he headed to the woods behind his house to phase. He was enjoying annoying his sister more than he would've thought. She better get over this soon though, because it was turning out to be much harder to stay away from his imprint than he'd ever imagined.

* * *

_Thankyou for reading. Please review, tell me what you think = )_


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 4**

_Thank you to mel[dot]wolfgirl, hgmsnoopy and The all mighty and powerfulM for your reviews! Thank you for reading and I hope you like the chapter =)_

_I'm definitely not SM. _

_

* * *

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The Alpha and the Beta ran.

They flew over the ground, their paws barely connecting with the earth as they sped around the boarder of their home. The home they'd sworn to protect with their lives. They were barely visible to any of the creatures who they passed, a sandy blur and a darker russet one racing through the forest, one playfully nudging the other occasionally.

Jake and Seth had been running like this in near silence for two hours now. The Beta was surprised that Jake hadn't said anything about his less than manly imprinting experience to him yet. He'd been preparing himself for that since Jake had left his house earlier today. He was dreading the moment the rest of the pack found out, he may be the Beta but that wouldn't stop the other members of the pack from teasing him mercilessly, at least until they made him really angry.

Seth was grateful that Jake let him be; right now he really needed some Seth time to clear his head and think about what had happened. He never realised how hard it was to be away from one's imprint. He'd felt the other imprinted wolves feelings and thoughts about it, they all had. But it was a completely different thing experiencing it firsthand. It wasn't being away from her right now that had him so unsettled, but the thought of being away from her until Leah had calmed down and at least accepted that he'd imprinted on Mac had him worried, who knew how long that would take. He was planning on going to her house tonight, scoping the area. He wanted to check out her house and find out exactly how long it would take him to get from his house to hers. You know, just in case.

It had been a long time since a leech had crossed the border, with the exception of the Cullen's they hadn't even caught the scent of one in months.

The pack still maintained their uneasy reliance with their vegetarian neighbours, with the top four ranked wolves in the pack meeting at their house once a month to talk about the treaty and any nomad vampires Alice might have seen in the area. Seth had always been comfortable around the Cullen's; he actually got on rather well with most of them, even if he didn't see them much anymore.

Jake visited the clan often, Bella may technically dead now but he had loved her and you couldn't just turn those feelings off on because you felt like it. He usually went to see them at least once a week, much to Edward's annoyance. Reneesme adored Jacob, she loved spending time with someone other than her family and Jake loved spending time with her. She was a very special little girl; one Seth had become rather fond of himself. Leah and Paul, being the third and fourth ranked members of the pack also had to attend these monthly meetings. Neither of them were as comfortable with the vampire coven than Seth and Jake were, Leah particularly didn't like Bella. Apart from Carlisle, Esme was the only one universally liked by the entire pack, even if Paul only liked her because she cooked him a mountain of waffles every time he came over.

The rest of the patrol was pretty quiet, they didn't pick up on any scents and Seth ended up talking to Jake about the most amusing dinner he'd had since the entire pack had decided to turn up at their house for an impromptu barbeque, his mother had forbidden that since then, demanding at least three days notice if they were all going to turn out at her house for dinner. Last time they'd cleaned out the entire pantry, and Leah, Paul, Collin and Brady had drained the alcohol cabinet dry after half an hour. Resulting in a roaring drunk Leah tackling Collin into Sue's brand new coffee table. Unfortunately the coffee table didn't survive, Sue never did by a new one, things had a way of being destroyed very quickly in the Clearwater household and she decided it would be a waste of money.

Speaking of things being destroyed in their household, his mother hadn't noticed his ruined door frame yet, but he was willing to bet she would have by the time he arrived home from patrol. Sue Clearwater was a very observant woman. She was going to be even madder that you didn't tell her that you imprinted, Jake added, shuddering lightly at the thought. Even the Alpha was scared of Sue Clearwater, she'd once broke a wooden spoon over his head for swearing at the dinner table, it didn't hurt, but still she could be truly terrifying. Jake felt sorry for the Beta, his dad went easy on him and both of his sisters hardly visited the rez anymore, so he hardly had to worry about their sisterly tantrums. Seth on the other hand had to deal with them daily.

The Beta sighed, Jake was right... Sue was definitely going to be fuming when he got home. It was a good thing Seth was almost indestructible.

* * *

Seth opened the door quietly and tip toed down the hallway towards his room, virtually silent except for his quiet breaths and the steady thumping of heart in his chest. He really hoped Leah was asleep right now, because no matter how silent he was, her super natural hearing would pick up his heart beat before he even entered the house. Seth sighed sadly as he heard his sister's gentle footsteps in her bed room. Crap. He stopped his sneaking and stood in the hall, leaning lazily against the wall as he waited for the yelling that he was sure was going to come.

He didn't have to wait very long.

"_How could you?_" Leah roared furiously as she stepped into the hall, her eyes burning in anger.

"How could I?" Seth snorted, taking a calming breath. "I didn't mean to imprint on her Leah", he said coolly.

"The only friend I have had in years that isn't pack and you fucking imprint on her!" Leah screeched, the look on her face threatening as she stepped closer, a snarl escaping her lips as he sighed resignedly.

He knew it was coming; his sister had always had a temper after all. So when Leah lunged at him, he was ready and easily dodged her, Leah's fist instead connecting with the wall behind him, creating a gaping hole through into his bedroom. Great, why'd it have to be his bedroom?

"Leah you need to calm down", Seth stated steadily, raising his hands in the air in surrender.

Being the Beta gave Seth a certain level of authority over the rest of the pack members. For example when the Alpha wasn't present Seth was in charge, he also had the ability to use the Alpha command if he needed. He really didn't like using it and had only ever been forced to use it on several occasions before. Once to break up a fight between the two lower ranking and youngest pack members Ace and Cooper the two were nearly equal in rank and so they often fought for dominance with each other. Occasionally their fight got a little out of hand, and when Jake wasn't present Seth had to step up and separate the two.

He really didn't want to have to use the Alpha command on his sister, but she wasn't leaving him much choice at the moment.

"What is going on?" Sue Clearwater yelled her voice full concern. "What happened to my wall?" She cried her voice rising when she noticed the damage. "I've told you two before! No fighting in my household, both of you stop right now!"

Leah wasn't really in the listening mood and this time when she launched herself at him he let her fist connect with his face. Wincing as he felt his cheek bone crack, but he managed wrapped his arms around his struggling sister, immobilising her and preventing her from attacking him again. He was stronger than her but she wasn't making this easy. He could hear his mother screaming to stop, and he knew he had to end this now.

"_**Leah, stop**_", he roared, the command in his voice making his sister stop struggling and go limp in his arms.

He put her gently down on the ground and she slumped against the wall, he didn't mean to make the command so strong, her legs were shaking so much she couldn't stand. Leah glared up at him, her brown eyes burning in fury, but his short growl caused her to look down submissively. He was still the dominant wolf and so she naturally shrank back from his anger, especially now she had calmed down a little. Although punching him in the face had felt surprisingly good.

"All right", his mother yelled from behind him. "What is going on you two?"

"Ma, I imprinted", Seth said simply, giving his mom a small smile and Leah an apologetic look.

"Oh honey, Really?" Sue smiled joyfully, rushing towards her son and wrapping her arms around his waist. "Oh Seth that's wonderful, what's she like? Is she pretty? Oh Seth I have to meet her!" She said, the words tumbling out her mouth as she laughed giddily.

"You already have met her". Seth said, returning his mothers hug, all be it less enthusiastically. It wasn't that he was disappointed in his imprint, she was pretty and she had a good sense of humour, he was sure she'd be easy to like. But he really did feel bad for taking Leah's friend from her and he didn't want to rub it in.

"I have?" she said sounding surprised as she looked up her son's face questioningly.

"Of course you have mom", Leah growled as she hauled herself off the ground, her legs working properly once again. "She was at dinner tonight".

"...You imprinted on McKenna?" She asked realisation dawning on her. "That's what all this is about?" She asked, finally releasing Seth as she stepped towards her daughter carefully. Leah was very close to her mother, for a while Sue and Seth had been the only friends she'd had, so Sue knew how important it had been to her to finally have someone that wasn't pack, and Seth imprinting on her meant that she would now be pack and would learn the secrets. She'd know what Leah was, she wouldn't be McKenna Grey Leah's friend anymore she would be McKenna Grey Seth's imprint.

"It's fine mom", Leah stated as she headed down the hall towards the back door. Right now she needed to run. "I'll be back later" she yelled back slamming the door behind her.

Seth ran a tired hand threw his hair as he gave his mother a small smile, which she returned.

"She'll come around hon, don't worry", she said patting him on the chest fondly. "So I guess this means we'll be seeing a lot more of Mac around here then. I'll have to invite her around to dinner again." She mused loudly as she wondered down to the kitchen, looking back at Seth expectantly, "I'll make you some waffles, you must be hungry after all that patrolling".

Seth smiled happily at her and followed her into the kitchen, slumping down at the table, resting his head on his arms as he listened to her work. He'd run a couple of laps around Mac's house on the way home. He now knew that it took him exactly seven minutes to get from his house to hers if he ran at full sped the whole way. Seth smiled as his mother thoroughly questioned him about every aspect of his imprint, pouting a little when she laughed loudly at him passing out when it happened, telling him that the pack was going to give him hell when they found out about that, but Seth already knew that. He was dreading the next full pack meeting, if Jacob managed to keep quiet, his sister wouldn't. Sue wasn't nearly as mad about the door frame as he thought she would be, she was however a little upset about the gaping hole thru her wall.

After his waffles and an extra big hug from Sue, Seth made his way to his room and collapsed onto his bed. He hadn't realised he was so tired and he was out like a light the moment his head hit the pillow.

* * *

Mac was snuggled up on the couch watching some murder investigation program on TV when the phone rang. She leapt off the couch and sprinted towards the bedroom where the music was blasting from. She jumped onto her bed and snapped open the phone, unfortunately she'd over estimated her jumping distance and so was perched precariously on the edge of her bed, she flailed momentarily before landing on the ground with a thump.

"Ouch", she said as she picked herself up off the ground.

"You just fell off the bed didn't you" an amused voice asked from the other end of the line.

"No", she lied badly, rubbing the sore spot on her but where it had connected with the hard wood floor.

"You're an awful liar kid", Oscar chuckled from. "So how'd your dinner go? Make any friends?"

"I don't know", she answered. "I think Leah's my friend, I like her. We like the same sort of stuff and she's rough as guts, so we get on great".

"Huh, that's good then kid, sounds like trouble if you ask me", he chuckled lightly, "but you never needed any help doing that anyway".

Mac grinned, "it's like my special talent. I mean everyone's got to be good at something. For Annabeth it's cooking me waffles and giving lectures, for you it's annoying the crap out of me... Annabeth too... Well actually everyone you meet. You're very annoying; it's just as well that I'm such a tolerant person", she said ignoring the protests of the very hurt Oscar. "And me, I'm really great at getting myself into all sorts of potentially dangerous and life threatening situations. It' really spices up life", she added thoughtfully.

"I don't annoy _everyone_ I meet... Do I?" he asked, growling playfully at Macs reply and turning to Annabeth instead. "Annabeth", he whined, "I'm not annoying am I?"

Mac couldn't hear Annabeths reply, but judging from Oscars' reaction, she'd guess that it was something along the lines of, "yes, very".

"You're both so mean", he huffed sadly. "You always gang up on me... It hurts me Mac".

She snorted out a laugh, "you're such a dork", she said rolling her eyes. "You know we love you really. Deep down".

"You love meeee", he sang happily, Mac was sure he was dancing around the room right now, sometimes the guy had the maturity of a six year old.

"Yeah, yeah", she said, her smile growing as she heard Annabeth yelling at Oscar to stop jumping on the furniture, he was twenty six not five. She missed them a lot, despite Oscars' annoyingness.

She listened happily as Annabeth asked for the phone, and Oscar refused to give it to her. This then resulted in Annabeth chasing him around the room for ten minutes, when she finally managed to catch him, he'd broken three chairs, a door and the grand piano. The Davidson family were vacationing at the moment but when they'd arrive home they were not impressed with the destruction caused by vandals to their home, they are still trying figure out how a group of teenagers managed to destroy their prized grand piano so easily, I mean it wasn't just a small dint, the thing was snapped clean in half!

At one point during the chase Mac was convinced that Annabeth had killed him with the amount of crashing and banging going on. Either that or he'd jumped her but she'd rather not consider that possibility.

"Oscar?" Mac asked carefully. "Are you ok?... Are you alive?"

"Yeah kiddo", came the strangled reply, which could be heard over Annabeths feral growls and Oscars hysteric laughter. "Come on Annabeth, I thought you were supposed to be fast", he teased. Mac was starting to think he had a death wish. "You call that fast?"

There was another loud crash, followed by Annabeths serene voice on the other end of the line, "Hello McKenna, sweetie. How have you been?"

"Ummm... I'm fine", she answered, twirling a piece of her hair around her finger. "Ah Annabeth... Is Oscar ok?... Or did you kill him, because I was only joking when I said he was annoying, I mean he's definitely kind of annoying but I think that might have been a little harsh..." Mac said warily.

There was a pause on the other end of the line before she answered, a smile evident in her voice. "Oh honey, he's fine", she assured her.

"Fine?" She heard Oscar ask sceptically. "I'm not fine! That _hurt_ Annabeth!"

She smiled as she heard Annabeths musical laughter and Oscar whining in the background for Annabeth to stop laughing and how she was a cruel heartless woman. He wished Mac was here she wouldn't be so mean too him!

"Oscar of course she would. In fact I'm sure she'd be worse. Much, much worse", Annabeth said cheerfully. "So McKenna, I heard you went over to a friend's house tonight! How was that? Did you have fun?" She asked excitedly.

Mac loved talking to Annabeth about her day, well actually about anything. The woman was a great listener. This was fine with Annabeth, quite often listening to the details of Macs day was the best part of hers. It gave her strength to continue. Reminded her that no matter how hopeless her task might seem that it was worth it. All the hunting, the fighting, the death, suddenly all of this was worth it because protecting this young girl who still had so much life to live was important to her. No matter how difficult things got she would protect her and if she got too stressed, well she could always take her anger out on Oscar. He'd proven himself to be a very good punching bag lately.

So Annabeth smiled happily as she listened to Mac babble cheerfully about muffins, bear hugs and crazy cliff diving locals. Who the hell would want to dive off a cliff, Mac thought that was an awful idea. Annabeth laughed when she described to her Seth Clearwater's dreamy abs and him passing out like a sissy. But for Annabeth the conversation was over far too soon and as she and Oscar disappeared into the night Annabeth preyed to the deities, to anyone who would listen, that they would find him soon and end this because she knew it was only a matter of time until he found a way around the wolves of La Push, and when he did, Annabeth knew there would be no way to save her. Not from him.

* * *

The She wolf loved to run, there was something about the rhythmic thud of her paws connecting with the dirt and the wind blowing through her thick silvery grey fur that calmed her. And right now Leah Clearwater could do with some calming.

It wasn't her turn to patrol right now, she really should be tucked up in bed sound asleep and dreaming about hot boys and houses made of chocolate that one was actually a dream Leah had often.

Paul, Collin and Brady ran with her as she sped around the reservation boarder, though they left her alone for the most part. Tonight she kept her thoughts to herself, it was easy for her now. Collin and Brady on the other hand weren't nearly as quite, the two wolves were young and eager and sometimes they let the odd thought slip past their guard. Both Leah and Paul found it very amusing that Collin was thinking about Sponge Bob, wasn't that show for like five year olds? Collin was offended by this, Sponge Bob Square Pants happened to be a very entertaining show for people of all ages, it had themes and morals that everyone could learn from. Wasn't that right Brady?

Brady really wished that Collin would have left him out of this one. In fact he didn't know what Collin was talking about. Was he going crazy? Because there was no way you'd catch him watching Sponge Bob. He was with Leah and Paul on this one, shouldn't he be watching something a little more grown up? Collin was very hurt that Brady was going to leave him hanging like this! I mean they'd been watching the show together since they were five, how could he just deny this so easily, Brady still watched it every morning at his house before school.

Brady didn't know what Collin was talking about, it was ok though, Brady promised not to tell anyone, he was a good friend like that. Leah on the other hand promised no such thing.

Leah laughed at the two pups, easily catching up to them and playfully bumping her shoulder into Collins. Collin shouldn't worry about it, if it made him feel better, Seth still watched Sponge Bob religiously it was his favourite show actually.

The She wolf dropped back, allowing the pups to continue their light banter as they ran, jaws snapping playfully with each other as they tore through the forest. Paul gave her shoulder a friendly nudge as she slowed beside him, giving her a wolfish grin as he did.

Paul and Leah were good friends, they were both hot heads, Paul slightly more so and being Third and Fourth ranked they got to spend a lot of time together, patrolling and organising the pups. By now the whole pack knew about Seth's imprinting, they had all felt it happen because even though only the Alpha was able to feel them in human form, they were all tightly connected and when something as big as a wolf imprinting happened, the whole pack felt it, right down to the least dominant and submissive wolf. After all it wasn't everyday that a new member joined the pack.

Leah didn't really want to talk about it, if Paul wanted details he was going to have to wait until the pack meeting in the morning where Seth's imprinting would be officially announced to the rest of the pack. Leah couldn't help but share her little memory clippet of Seth face down on the floor though, that was just too sweet to resist. Paul couldn't believe he _fainted_, the Beta was never going to live this down.

The two had dropped back into silence when they smelt it, the sickly sweet scent burning their nostrils causing both of the wolves to slam on the brakes to investigate further. It had been months since the wolves had found a trail anywhere near the border. Collin and Brady had been running the tighter loop and so had missed the trail which had been close to the furthest edge of the reservation border but on hearing Leah's earth shattering howl, the two were quickly heading back to Paul and Leah, who'd already started following the trail when they caught up.

Leah was the fastest, but she hung back with the others, she knew now that handling a leech alone was dangerous and she wasn't going to risk it. It was only seconds later when the Alpha phased in and started giving out orders to the rest of the pack, who were also joining the chase.

Jake wanted the four to continue chasing, when the rest of them caught up he wanted Collin and Brady to drop back and guard the rez with the pups. The warning growl he gave stopped any ideas either of the boys had of arguing, for the first time in a long time, the chase was on. It was time to show this leech why he shouldn't mess with the wolves.

* * *

Seth was dreaming about food. This wasn't an unusual occurrence for him, in fact the young Beta often dreamt about food, specifically waffles and his moms chocolate cake. The thing that made this dream different was that his imprint was there, all be it scantily clad. Did an apron count as clothes? Seth wasn't sure, but it was definitely better than his usual dream. He wasn't a perv... Ok so he was a little bit of a perv, but he couldn't help it, he was an eighteen year old male after all and she was his imprint and Seth happened to think she was rather pretty. She had a nice smile and even nicer legs and he couldn't help it if the apron she was wearing was awfully revealing.

The dream was just about to get to the good part, the bit where the pretty girl actually fed him the food from where she was happily perched on his knee. But just before the mouth watering piece of chocolate cake met his mouth Seth was suddenly overcome with fear. Not just a little bit either, but full on terror. It took him a few seconds to realise that this wasn't his fear he was feeling, he was warm and safe, tucked happily into his bed, the terror he was feeling was not his own, but his imprints, Mac was scared. Mac was terrified, something was wrong and it was this thought that ripped Seth from his dreams.

He bolted for his door way ripping the door to his bedroom off his hinges as he opened it. He flew out the back door, barely aware of his mothers' surprised cries and the howl of one of his pack mates as he phased once he had hit the tree line. He could feel his pack mates' confusion and worry as he ran but he wasn't listening, not even to his Alpha, not when his imprint was in trouble. He was so focused on reaching her that he didn't even realise that the whole pack was present, which meant only one thing at his time of night. He didn't hear Leah's piercing howl as she signalled she was getting closer, that she nearly had this blood sucker. He didn't feel her frustration as the leech once again dodged her attack, heading for the ocean, where they wouldn't be able to follow him.

Seth was far too gone to notice any of that because his imprint _needed_ him. And this time when he ran it took him five minutes to reach her tiny cottage.

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_Hope you liked it = ) Please review._


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 5

_Thank you to , hgmsnoopy, fallunder, The all mighty powerfulM, eskimogirl65 and mel[dot]wolfgirl for your reviews!_

_Thanks for reading =)_

_I do not own Twilight, only my OCs._

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He was probably enjoying this more than he should, but these pups were fast and this was the best chase he'd had in a long time.

Ever since he could remember he'd loved to play games. It just made life more exciting and as he got older more extreme things were needed to get this same level of excitement. No matter how old he got there were few things that he enjoyed more than a good chase.

The she wolf was the fastest and right now she was leading the pack, he couldn't help but laugh at the frustrated growls that were escaping her mouth as he sped towards the cliffs. As fun as this was, he had found out what he needed to, and now he had stuff that he needed to do.

He was really going to miss the La Push she wolf, she was a feisty one and he liked to think that they had really bonded through this experience.

He thought she might have a thing for him actually, just in case she did he made sure to look back and give her a seductive wink, licking his lips a little as he did. He was pretty sure that she winked back, the Alpha was obviously jealous of his she wolfs feelings for him but he thought that all that snarling and teeth snapping was a little bit much, the Alpha really needed to learn to control himself, it was slightly embarrassing.

He picked up the pace as he headed towards the cliffs, the wolves dropping behind slightly as he sped among the trees, his jet black hair billowing out behind him. These wolves were definitely going to make getting the girl a challenge. He had to give it to those two, hiding the girl here was a brilliant idea, these mutts were definitely troublesome. It was just as well he was a smart son of a bitch.

He grinned darkly as he threw himself gracefully of the edge of one of the highest cliffs, these pups had no idea what they were getting themselves into, he was much older than them and much, much smarter, nothing would stop him from taking what was his, not this time. Especially not a pack of flea bitten mongrels.

* * *

It only took him five minutes, but it seemed like hours.

Seth wasn't sure what the hell was wrong with his imprint but once he'd arrived it had been clear to him that there was no one else here. The only scents he could pick up were Mac's and Leah's. No one else had been here, human or other wise and that was the only fact that stopped him from ripping her door off its hinges and taking her back to his house and locking her in his room, where she would stay. Preferably forever. And he could keep her safe from vampires, murderers and every other member of the opposite sex.

Seth paced outside the house hidden in the trees near her back yard, listening to her heart beat that was hammering in her chest, and was only now slowly starting to calm down. She had finally stopped hyper ventilating and was breathing properly, even if they were shaky breaths.

When he heard her start crying Seth nearly lost it, letting out a strangled whine as her small sobs turned into full on heart breaking wails. It was the worst noise he had ever heard, and it fitted perfectly with her emotions right now, apart from the original burst of fear these were the strongest emotions he'd felt from her. Despair, loneliness, and fear, a lot of fear.

Seth knew she felt these things, but he didn't know why. He'd been pacing around the back of her house now for 10 minutes and there was no trace of anyone else coming or going, so he had no idea in hell what had her so scared. It wasn't long after the wailing started that she started smashing stuff. He could hear the plates shatter as they hit the wall, her cursing, screaming, why? Why did this have to happen to her?

Why what? What had happened to her? That's what Seth wanted to know. He was three seconds away from busting down her door when Leah arrived, stopping beside him and shooting a concerned look towards the house where Mac had finished off the plates and had moved onto the glasses and mugs, her sobs and wails slowly changed into screams of anger, the curses becoming more frequent as the fear decreased and was replaced by boiling rage.

"_What the hell is wrong with her?"_ Leah asked as she joined in Seth pacing, her silvery grey fur blowing in the wind, _"is she ok?"_

Seth gave a wolfy sigh not taking his eyes from the house where his imprint was having a mental break down. He wasn't sure. She was so scared, he'd never felt fear like it in his life and he didn't know why. Seth was sorry he hadn't been able to help with the chase, next time he would help the pack take down the leech.

Leah wasn't mad, none of them were. Seth was newly imprinted and they'd all felt Mac's fear radiating through the pack bond, Jake had to tell Leah to concentrate several times, she'd been ready to leave the leech to the rest of the pack and race over here instead.

Leah stayed with him until the smashing stopped, which was only after Mac had run out of dinnerware to destroy. That was the first night Seth slept outside Mac's house, hidden in the forest just behind her house. It wouldn't be the last.

* * *

The next morning Mac felt like shit, the dreams always left her empty and hopeless. Feeling like there was no reason for her to run anymore, like she was fighting a losing battle and she might as well turn herself over. These were her bad days. The days she spent curled up in bed, crying. Thinking of a time when she was happy, when she had a family, something to live for. But she'd always pick herself up and carry on, because she wasn't going to let that bastard win, because there were good days and good people worth living for. It was just sometimes she forgot that.

It took her an hour and a half to finally clean up all of the shattered dinnerware of the ground and by the time she was done, she was starving. Only problem was now she didn't have anything to eat off.

She dressed slowly, not really feeling like walking anywhere today, toady she'd much rather be in bed but she was really hungry and she had nothing to make cereal in. It took her fifteen minutes longer than usual to walk to the store, she was moping but she figured after a night like last night she was allowed to.

Leah was sitting on the counter, reading some gossip magazine as she blew bubbles with her grape flavoured gum. She looked at Mac as she entered, giving the younger girl a small smiled as she flopped beside her on the counter.

Leah looked Mac over, she was a mess. Her hair was everywhere and her eyes were red and puffy from crying all night and not getting any sleep. Her voice was raw and raspy from screaming and cursing for hours straight and her hands were covered in sticky plasters and deep cuts and scratches from picking up the many pieces of ceramics that had littered her small kitchen this morning.

"What the hell happened to you?" Leah asked, shooting her friend a worried look. Leah had a rough idea of what had happened last night, she did stay outside her house with her brother for most of the night, but it was the sort of things friends did and Leah was hoping that Mac might shed some light on the reasons for her mental breakdown, although she doubted it.

Mac shrugged dismissively, "I dropped a plate and cut my hands picking it up".

Leah raised her eyebrows at that, "really? You cut yourself up that bad with one plate?" she asked disbelievingly. "And what about the fact that it looks like you didn't get any sleep all night, your eyes are red and puffy like you've been crying, Mac, you look like crap. I'm your friend, you can talk to me", she said watching Mac carefully.

Mac looked down at her feet, ignoring Leah's meaningful gaze. "I didn't sleep very well last night, I felt like shit". That was a major understatement. "And you know me, I'm possibly the clumsiest person alive, this-", she said, rising her heavily bandaged hands meaningfully and wriggling them around, "-wasn't that hard to achieve".

It was this moment Macs stomach choose to speak up, reminding her not so politely that she had actually come here for a reason, a reason that involved food.

"Ahh... excuse me" Mac said blushing lightly at her stomachs outburst. "I'll be back in a jiffy", she said jumping off the counter and grabbing a basket. It took her ten minutes to gather all of her items, plastic plates and cups as well as multiple packets of different lollies, sugar always made her feel better.

Leah smirked when she saw what was in the basket. "One plate huh?"

She didn't meet Leah's eyes, and quickly changed the subject. "Um... So what time do you get off today?"

"I finish at two, but I got to go into town after this anyway, stuff to do", she said as she packed the groceries into a bag for her. "Mom wanted me to invite you over for tea again, if you're keen. She worries about you being over there by yourself", Leah told her, smiling at her. That was an understatement, after she'd heard what happened last night and she's found out that not only was she Leah's friend, but her sons imprint, Sue was thinking about making it a daily thing. Leah wasn't sure that Mac would want to come back after last night's dinner.

"She's not going to take no for an answer, is she?" Mac asked, sighing tiredly.

"Nope", she replied cheerily. "If you refuse I think she'll probably just go over to your house and drag you over by your ear", she added, smiling happily at her.

Mac sighed in resignation, "fiiinnneeee. What time?"

"Be there at six", she said as she handed Mac her grocery bags, "I'll see you tonight".

"Toodles", Mac called back as she exited the store, waving to Leah with her bandaged hand.

When she reached the shelter of her current home Mac got straight on to the task of quieting her protesting stomach, filling her one of her plastic bowls with as much lucky charms as it could take, and once they were swimming in milk she scoffed them down in record time. It took two bowls to properly satisfy her hunger and as soon as she had washed he plastic bowl, which by the way really sucked with the soapy water and her sliced up hands, she crawled down the hall and into her bed, she was too exhausted to even mutter curses about her pink walls like she usually did before she drifted off into a restless sleep.

* * *

She had never met anyone as cunning and manipulating as him, not in her three thousand years of this life. She doubted she ever would.

They had been tracking him for weeks and they hadn't once gotten near enough to see him, not even close.

Even so she knew exactly what he looked like; every hauntingly beautiful detail of his face was committed to her memory. His silky black hair which hung loose around his shoulders, his flawless white skin, the little dimples that formed in the corner of his mouth when he smiled- when he _really_ smiled- not like the evil smirks that graced his lips as he watched mercilessly while his victims contorted in pain as he so often had over the last several thousand years. Like he had as he watched her writhe in pain as she had turned, he hadn't killed her, he had always liked her more than the others. No she was reserved a much more privileged fate than the rest of her family.

Privileged. That was a matter of opinion, she would have chosen death all those years ago, if he had given her the choice.

"Annabeth", Oscar repeated for the third time, "are you listening at all?" She always did this, got lost in herself, in her memories and it worried him. He was always worried about her.

"Sorry Oscar", she apologised quietly, "I was thinking".

He smiled at her, stepping closer so their arms were touching as he stood beside her. She had always been the only one able to calm him, but he'd always been the only one able to bring her back from herself. "That's not like you at all" he said sarcastically.

She gave him a rueful smile in return, "Sarcasm Oscar? That makes a nice change from usual".

He grinned at her, enjoying their closeness in this moment, "I have never been more proud of you than right now Annabeth. You used sarcasm and you did it properly".

Mac and Oscar were the King and Queen of sarcasm, nearly every second word that left their mouths was dripping in it. Annabeth on the other hand was awful at it; she just couldn't grasp the concept of saying something and not meaning it. She had always been a terrible liar, ever since she was little. It was one of the few things that she wasn't good at, much to the amusement of Oscar and Mac.

"I'm glad I didn't disappoint you", she said rolling her eyes, her tone once again saturated with sarcasm. She wondered how much longer they could do this, keep chasing him. She knew it wouldn't be long until he was ready to strike.

She should have expected the reply and heated gaze that comment earned her. "You never disappoint me", he said softly as he twirled one of her long golden locks around his finger. It was true too, even though she constantly pushed him away, she had never once disappointed him, he knew she had her own problems to deal with before she would even consider accepting him as her mate like he wanted, he couldn't help it if he became a little impatient every now and then, it was in his nature.

She shifted uncomfortably as he stared at her, barely concealed longing obvious in his golden eyes. She avoided his stare by focusing instead on the tree behind him, they had hardly stopped tracking him in the month they'd been gone, but even they need to feed and so the two had stopped to hunt, feeding on an elk each. She sighed tiredly as she ran her fingers through the short strands of hair in the back of his neck, eliciting a small groan from his lips as he pressed his body closer to hers. As much as she wanted him right now as she always did, not that he needed to know that as it would only serve to inflate his already over large ego, they really needed to leave. "We need to get moving", she said, looking towards the distance in the direction of La Push.

He grinned at her cheekily, tugging on her arm and pulling her into him before she could protest. He wrapped his arms around her waist holding her tight against him, dropping a sloppy kiss on her forehead before giving her backside a gentle squeeze and leaping off into the darkness. She growled dangerously as she followed him, a gentle smile gracing her soft features.

They couldn't catch him but they knew where he was headed, what he wanted right now more than anything and that meant they knew where he was going to be. The two vampires headed towards La Push. They would wait for him and then they would end this. She didn't think they would have to wait long, after all no one new Deimos better than she did.

* * *

Mac had been snuggled up in bed when she heard loud knocking on the door. She glared angrily down the hall in the direction of the door, she hadn't been asleep but she was warm and she really didn't want to leave her bed. She growled as her door was subjected to a second round of abuse, this one more impatient than the last, and followed by a deep voice calling out her name, he knew she was home so could she please open the door?

Mac sighed and wrapped her blanket around her even as she stood from the bed, wrapping it around her like a cloak as she waddled down the hall way.

"Hold your freaken horses", she demanded as she neared the door where the banging had resumed once more. "I'm coming, _jeez_".

She opened the door, clutching her blanket tighter as the cold outside air touched her exposed skin. She gave Seth Clearwater a dangerous glare as he looked down at her, his expression unreadable. "What can I do for you Clearwater?" She asked, ignoring the way his gaze lingered on her tightly bandaged hands that were clutching the blanket that was so snugly wrapped around her.

"Can I come in?" he asked, noticing the goose bumps that were covering her skin, sometimes it was easy to forget that other people actually got cold.

She gave him a calculated look before stepping aside and allowing him entrance to her cosy house. "I suppose so".

"Leah said you weren't feeling well", he said, his eyes sweeping her form as she set her blanket down on the couch. "Mom would've come over herself but she had to go into the cafe, so I've been charged with checking up on you and bringing you this" he added holding up the plastic bag in his hand that contained a peace offering. "Chicken soup, some throat lollies and a packet of gummy snakes" he said as he sat the items down on the small coffee table.

Her glare quickly turned into a soft smile as she looked at the items he'd brought with him. "Thanks Seth", she said softly, settling down on the couch and looking up at him happily. "You didn't have to come over here, and Sue didn't have to do this, I'm fine". She was more touched by this gesture than any of the Clearwater's would ever know.

"You don't look fine" he said the concern obvious in his voice as he opened the packet of lollies and offered her one, which she happily accepted. The relief Seth felt at being able to see his imprint was immense and slightly disturbing, but he was happy that Leah who'd had patrol, had given him the task of cheering her friend up. He was sure that her change in attitude had something to do with the talk their Alpha had given her this morning, that and watching the rest of the pack rip him to shreds about the whole imprinting and passing out like a girl incident. She actually had felt a little sorry for him; hence his chicken soup run to his imprints house, he'd been anxious to see her since last night.

After last night Jake was stepping up the patrols, there was something about this leech that had him on edge. It was playing with them last night, testing them and they didn't know what it wanted. But the Alpha had a really bad feeling about this one and so he wasn't taking any chances. The increased patrols meant that both he and Leah would be busy a lot more, he didn't like the idea of Mac being alone so much and so the Clearwater siblings had both agreed that it'd be a good idea to introduce her to the rest of the pack as soon as possible and hopefully she'd make friends with the other imprints. The rest of the pack were dying to meet her.

Mac shrugged dismissively as she dismembered her blue gummy snake. "It's not that bad", she said ignoring Seth's disbelieving look. "I just have a cold and I dropped a stupid plate this morning and cut my hands picking the bits up".

"Cut your hands up is a bit of an understatement", he said seriously, "if those bandages are anything to go by then absolutely ripped to shreds would be a more appropriate".

"You're a drama queen", Mac decided as she dug through the bag of gummy snakes to find another blue one. They were her favourite for two reasons, one because they were obviously the most tasty choice, two because if you ate enough of them then your tongue turned blue and that was just awesome, it really made her feel like a lizard and lizards were in Mac's top ten favourite creatures of all time, right behind tigers and kangaroos.

"Ahhh... Mac are you listening?" Seth asked, waving his hand in front of her face.

"Huh?" She replied, snapping out of her little day dream. "Oh... Um no, no I wasn't. What were you talking about?"

He smiled slightly, wondering exactly what his imprint was thinking about that had her so distracted, had he known Seth Clearwater would have been thoroughly impressed. "If it's not that bad then I want to see".

She frowned slightly hiding her hands behind her back, "It's fine Seth", she said insistently, causing him to roll his eyes and hold out his hand looking at her expectantly.

She groaned loudly, glaring at him as she complied and placed her hands in his warmer larger ones. He un wrapped them slowly, being as gentle as he could. Seth knew that her hands were worse than she was making out, he could smell the blood as soon as he'd walked into the room and it was making him agitated. For the record there and only two things that a wolf hated more than the smell of his imprints blood was the smell of their fear and the feeling of their pain and since he'd got to experience all of those things in the last twenty four hours, he was currently feeling a little bit on edge.

He couldn't help the growl that rumbled in his chest when he finally had uncovered her entire hand. It was a mess, deep scratches and cuts covered her fingers and palm, there were a few that Seth was sure would need stitches.

"What the hell were you doing Mac?" He said angrily, even though he had heard what happened he didn't understand how she could cut herself up that badly. It was called being careful.

"I dropped a plate-", she sighed at the look Seth gave her. "-fine all of my plates and I was ... upset, I wasn't think straight when I picked up the pieces and I cut them up pretty bad. It was a bad idea in hind sight, hurts like a bitch".

He looked back down at her hands, yeah he knew she'd been upset, really upset. He also knew that throwing the plates against the wall didn't count as dropping them.

"I really think you need to go to a doctor", he said examining the cuts closely. "You don't want them to get infected".

She snatched her hands away quickly, cursing as she fumbled with the bandages she was trying to wined back around her them. "NO" she yelled. "Ahh... I mean no", she said nervously. "Don't worry about it. I'm sure they'll be fine".

Seth frowned at her, gently taking her hands in his. "I really think it would be a good idea", he said carefully. "What's so bad about the doctors? I can take you, it's only in forks".

"I... just can't ok? I don't like the doctors", Mac fumbled, watching Seth nervously as he continued examining her hands.

"Mac", Seth said seriously, "some of these are really deep. What if they get infected?"

"Drop it Seth", she snapped. "I have some disinfectant stuff in the cupboard I'll be fine". She hadn't actually used it on her hands yet, she was avoiding it because last week she tripped and skinned her knee and when she'd used it then, it hurt like a bitch and she really didn't want to use it again. Annabeth had brought it for her because Mac was very accident prone and constantly injuring herself, Annabeth was always worried about her getting an infection and dying and so Mac had a very packed full medicine cabinet.

He looked at her suspiciously before nodding, "fine, which one. I'll do it again for you, just in case. Then I will wrap them properly for you", he said, standing and walking towards the small kitchen.

When she wouldn't tell him, he used his nose, following the antiseptic smell to the cabinet below the sink, giving her a wicked grin as he pulled out the enormous medical bag.

She shrunk back into the couch as he approached. "I'll be gentle", he said with a cheeky grin.

She rolled her eyes wincing as Seth, used the cloth to gently bathe her hand, cursing quietly as he worked.

"Stings huh?" He said, smiling slightly at her use of the English language. It was a very creative way to use the word ass. He was slightly impressed.

"No! It's fucking _peachy_ Seth. I'm wincing in pain and swearing because it's fun, I really get a kick out of this shit".

He grinned at her, chuckling at the glare she was giving him and making sure to get the disinfectant into the worst looking of the cuts, he didn't want them to get an infection.

"_Mother fucker_", she cursed under her breath. Growling at Seth as he laughed loudly, it was nowhere near as his impressive as his growl but it was still a good effort he couldn't help but feel a little proud of her.

It took him ten minutes to bathe both of her hands. It was ten minutes full of a lot of swearing. He left not long after, and in a much better mood than he had arrived in. Mac felt better to, she didn't understand why but seeing Seth had calmed her and left her with a happy smile on her face, but it was possible that this was just the affects of Sue's chicken noodle soup and the packet of gummy snakes.

Either way she was feeling a lot better than she had been this morning, she was pretty sure it was the soup.

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_Please review =)_


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 6**

_Cheers for reading and a special thanks to my reviewers, mel[dot]wolfgirl, hgmsnoopy, scbear7, The all mighty and powerful, and fallunder, you guys rock = )_

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When Mac walked into the Clearwater house she was greeted with the smell of Sues amazing cooking and it instantly caused her to drool. All she'd had to eat today was to bowls of cereal and that was at lunch time, now she was starving.

Leah was sitting on the bench, stealing pieces of chicken out of the pan that Sue was using to cook the stir fry. The she wolf gave Mac a happy grin as she wondered into the kitchen jumping off the bench and walking to stand beside her.

"Seth's not going to be here tonight", Leah informed her as she handed her a piece of chicken from the pan, "he's over at Jakes".

Mac hid her disappointment well, but the she wolf was very observant and although the frown only graced Macs face for a split second, she noticed it, scowling at the thought that Mac was already falling for her brother. Leah knew it would happen eventually, but she'd thought that Mac would've given her brother a harder time than that. Unbeknownst to either Seth or Mac, the rest of the pack was betting on how long it would take for the two to get together, Leah was guessing a couple of months at the least. The boys wanted to meet her before placing their bets, which they would do at the bonfire tomorrow.

"I'm going to have to meet this Jake character", she said as she followed Leah towards the living room where Leah had been watching cartoons, before she got distracted by the smell of food cooking in the kitchen.

"You will", Leah said happily as she snuggled down into the couch cushions motioning to the spot beside her with a wave of her hand. "He's been asking to met you for weeks, I'm surprised you've managed to avoid meeting him for so long", Leah laughed, "It's hard not to meet someone when you live somewhere as tiny as La Push".

"If you hadn't noticed, I don't really get out much", Mac said, smiling as she watched Leah inhale a bowl of popcorn. After a few weeks of watching the girl eat Mac had accepted the fact that Leah had an abnormally large appetite and would eat anything and everything in sight in a matter of minutes.

"Well, we're going to have to change that aren't we?" she said, offering Mac the bowl of popcorn. She shrugged, taking a few pieces in her hand and throwing them up in the air, trying and failing to catch them in her mouth.

She pouted sadly as she picked them up off the ground, popping them in her mouth with a crunch. "I guess so. I highly doubt that I'm going to get a choice in the matter".

Leah grinned at her, "you are correct, I would've just dragged your ass out anyways".

Mac laughed, punching Leah gently in the arm, nearly breaking her hand in the process. The girl had arms of freaking steel. "And I completely believe you would", she said, rubbing her throbbing hand softly.

"It's what friends are for", Leah stated dismissively.

Leah and Mac grew impatient quickly after Leah finished the rest of the popcorn and so they spent the next half hour playing the funnest game ever invented. The aim of the game was to sneak past Sue and steal bits of chicken out of her stir fry, and not get caught. It was easier said than done because the woman had eyes like a freaking hawk and so one had to be particularly sneaky to win.

Leah was obviously at an advantage having years of practice at the game, and unknown to Mac having super sneaky wolf skills. She was fast to, which helped when making the short sprint from the living room to behind the bench in the kitchen, avoiding Sue who was sitting happily at the dinner table, reading magazine as she waited for her rice to cook. The hardest part was reaching up and stealing the chicken from the pan without scolding yourself or tipping the boiling contents all over your head. The game ended when Sue caught Mac on a return journey from the kitchen with her third piece of chicken, Mac squealed as Sue shot her a truly terrifying look causing both girls to sprint down the hall to Leah's room, where they were safe from her penetrating glare and her wooden spoon. Unfortunately the door did not protect them from a very well thought out lecture about eating dinner before it was ready and running inside the house.

Mac discovered several things that night, one, Sue Clearwater was the most amazing cook in the world, and two, never, ever trust Leah to watch your skittles while you go on a toilet break. She did eventually forgive Leah for demolishing her sugary treats because that was the sort of things friends did. And plus, Mac was one of those people who believed that revenge was a dish best served cold, vengeance would be hers, eventually.

Leah Clearwater would rue the day that she ate McKenna Greys skittles.

* * *

Seth was on patrol, although right now the Beta would much rather be at home, stuffing his face with his family and be getting to know his imprint better.

He was running patrol with Collin and Brady, and although he loved his pack brothers dearly, the two had a tendency to annoy the crap out of the older wolves they happened to be patrolling with. Right now that was Seth.

The Beta thought that the two could really use some lessons in keeping their thoughts to themselves, it's not that they weren't interesting or anything , it's just that Seth was getting really sick of watching Collins constant thoughts of some girl he got with a couple of days ago. Seth had seen things tonight that he wished he'd never witnessed and unfortunately for him, the horrible images would stay seared into his mind for the rest of his life.

The girl Collin had been with was blonde; she had pretty hazel eyes and a particularly good rack, although Seth didn't think she was half as pretty as Mac was.

Apparently Seth hadn't completely mastered the control of his own thoughts quite yet, as both of the younger wolves turned their attention to the image of Mac this morning, still dressed in her pyjamas, when she'd opened the door.

Brady had to agree, he'd always had a thing for brunettes, he thought Seth was pretty damn lucky. It was Collins particularly un tasteful remark about her "nice ass" that had Seth chasing the younger pup around the reservation border for a half hour, mentally abusing him the whole time, until he managed to catch him and give him a good chewing over.

Needless to say Brady enjoyed it immensely.

Collin on the other hand did not, he thought that the Beta was overreacting slightly; it was more of a complement really. The Beta was not amused, he failed to see how the younger wolfs comment could ever be seen as a complement to him or his imprint. By the end of the patrol Collin had a very sore tail and he was pretty sure it was a few inches shorter than it was this morning.

* * *

Mac wasn't sure about this and she'd be lying if she said she wasn't nervous, but she had never been good around a lot of people and from what Leah said there were going to be a lot of people present at this little shindig which the Clearwater's had so nicely invited her to.

She'd heard a lot about these people since she'd been in La Push and not all of it good. Just as well Mac had never been one to give a shit what everyone else thought. She'd heard good things about them to of course, mostly from Sue, but Mac was pretty sure she was bias.

It seemed to Mac that a lot of the people on the reservation didn't like Seth, Leah or their friends. She didn't get out much but when she did she often overheard people gossiping about "those boys and that Clearwater girl, running around half naked again", "doing drugs in the forest" and "causing trouble". Mac wasn't sure what Seth's friends looked like but if they were anything like him then she sure wouldn't mind them running around half naked, she wouldn't mind at all. As far as the doing drugs story went she hadn't seen anything that indicated that that was true and if it was, then it wasn't really any of her concern.

At first she'd tried to get out of it, but after a stern look from Sue, a smack upside the head from Leah and a serious talk over the phone from Seth saying that if she didn't go, he was dragging her there whether she liked it or not, she eventually caved. It was the look from Sue that made her agree, she made her cookies and so she didn't want to get her mad and cause her to withhold the little chocolaty discs of goodness from her, she didn't want to risk that.

Mac was dressed warmly, wearing a black pair of jeans and a thick hoody over her favourite Guns and Roses t-shirt. The pocket in the front of her hoody was an excellent place to hide candy. Seth was supposed to be here in ten minutes to pick her up, she'd said she would walk but he had insisted, stating that he didn't want her walking that far by herself and plus he was pretty sure that she'd get lost. Mac resented that comment.

It wasn't long until she heard a heavy, impatient knocking on the door, signalling that her ride had finally arrived. The noise caused the butterflies in her stomach to start fluttering around all over again. She walked quickly down the hall towards the door, humming a happy wee tune to herself as she walked.

Seth could feel her more. The better he got to know her the stronger the bond between them became. He wouldn't have been able to feel her nervousness this strongly a week ago. She was so jittery it was making him nervous.

He smiled to himself as he drove towards the bonfire spot, watching Mac fidget with the hem of her hoody as they drove.

"You have nothing to be nervous about Mac", he said, giving her a soft smile as her brown eyes meet his. He didn't have to be her wolf to tell she was scared, he could see it in her eyes and the way she fidgeted, unable to sit still. She was usually a lot louder than this, it was weird seeing her so quiet.

She gave him a nervous wee smile before pulling a bag of skittles out of her pocket. "Want some skittles?" She asked, completely changing the subject. The change didn't go unnoticed by Seth and he gave her a look that told her he knew what she was up to but he was letting it slide.

"Sure", he said, holding out his hand so she could tip the lollies into his palm.

It was silent for a while as the both munched on their mouthful of sweets. This silence was interrupted by a disgusted growl from Mac, which nearly caused Seth to swerve off the road it gave him such a fright. He watched her, slightly concerned as she scrambled to wind down the window, sticking her head out it as soon as the gap was wide enough and spitting her mouthful of skittles all over the road.

Seth watched her with a mixture of concern and amusement written on his face, as she settled back down into her seat, the window once again closed.

Mac blushed when she noticed the looks Seth was shooting her. She guessed that she probably looked pretty spazzy at the moment; he was probably really regretting inviting her to meet his friends about now. "I got a green one", she stated, feeling the need to explain. "I _hate_ the green ones", she said lowly, her tone still mildly disgusted.

He smiled, unable to stop the laugh that followed as he watched her face turn from one of embarrassment to one of annoyance. "You went to all that trouble to spit out the green skittle?" he asked incredulously.

She poked her tongue out at him, causing his grin to grow even larger, showing off his perfectly straight white teeth. "Yes. Yes, I did. Their majorly icky", she informed him matter of factly.

"I have an idea", he said, trying harder to focus on the road, crashing wouldn't hurt him one bit, but his imprint was human, she was fragile and he wasn't about to be the one to break her. Not that he'd let anything else hurt her either. "How about from now on when we eat skittles I'll trade you all my red ones for all your green ones" he asked her, smiling at her the thoughtful look that had appeared on her face, "I happen to like the green ones", he added.

Mac gave him a suspicious look before sticking out her hand for him to shake, " you got yourself a deal Clearwater", she said happily.

He carefully took her hand, keeping the other one firmly on the wheel as he gently shook her hand. "It's a deal then".

It didn't take them much longer to reach the cliffs, where these bonfires were always held. The entire pack would be present, at least for a part of the night as they were swapping patrols so everybody got to meet the newest imprint. It wasn't every day that a new member joined the pack and so far Mac had managed to avoid meeting anyone else from the pack apart from Leah and Seth. She really needed to leave the house more.

Seth could feel the butterflies in her tummy come back in force as he shut off the truck, with only the short walk left until she met everyone, her previously forgotten nervousness had returned with a vengeance.

They walked silently along the track towards the cliffs, Mac lagging slightly behind. When they got close enough to hear voices she stopped completely. After a few seconds she turned around and started walking in the other direction. She was really hoping that Seth didn't notice.

Unfortunately for her Seth was very observant, especially when it came to her, and he had a warm arm wrapped firmly around her waist before she'd even made it three steps away. She squealed in protest, squirming as she tried to escape the firm grip he had on her. "Let me go Seth", she hissed quietly. "I _will_ bite you, I kid you not".

He smirked down at her as he once again began to walk towards the voices, ignoring her attempts to escape and the quiet cursing which was flowing from her mouth.

"You are such a _dick_ Seth..." Mac growled, freezing as she realised the voices had stopped, that Seth had finally relinquished his death grip on her waist and was now giving her an amused smile.

She turned around slowly, giving a small squeal of terror as she nearly died of embarrassment. Everyone was staring at her. She didn't know these people and there were lots of them and they were staring at her, the only thing that stopped Mac from sprinting away like she wanted to was the warm hand resting on her lower back, guiding her forward towards the group of people who were gathered around the fire. Mac spotted Leah first, she was sitting near the fire on a piece of wood beside man Mac didn't recognise. Sue was sitting close by, beside a man in a wheel chair, a blanket wrapped tightly around her shoulders to protect her from the cold.

"Everyone this is Mac", Seth announced to the still silent group as he ruffled her hair fondly. "Mac, this is everyone", he said happily, gesturing to the group, most of whom were smiling at her.

She gave them a little wave as Seth pushed her closer, heading straight towards Leah who was grinning at her like an idiot. Mac managed to refrain from pulling the finger at her for enjoying her embarrassment so much, she didn't want everyone to hate her even more.

She sighed sadly, plopping down beside Leah on the piece of drift wood and shooting Seth her best "I-am-going-to-kill-you-later-and-it-will-be-painful look". He just smiled cheekily at her giving her a wink as he sat down on the ground beside the man who was giving her a matching stupid grin.

"That was a great entrance Mac", Leah stated, smiling at her happily. "I tend to agree with you about the Seth being a dick part", She added, flicking a cheeky grin at her brother, who pouted sadly at the insult.

"You're both so _mean_ to me", he said, sighing sadly and throwing a piece of wood into the blazing fire.

"You", Mac said, glaring at him dangerously, "are a major douche bag Seth".

Leah laughed at that, as did the giant sitting beside her. Mac was starting to feel like a midget around all these people and she liked to consider herself of average height for a girl, but she still only came up to Seth's chest, and just above Leah's shoulder.

"Oh, this is Jake", Leah said, gesturing towards the giant seated in between her and Seth.

He was sitting down but Mac could tell he was tall, taller than Seth, and he was at least six and a half feet tall, Jake must be nearly seven foot. He was well muscled, like nearly everyone else here now that she thought about it. He had short dark hair, smooth russet skin and a friendly smile, his dark brown eyes sparkling in amusement as he lent over Leah to shake her hand.

"It's nice to meet you", he said, flashing her a blinding smile. "I've heard a lot about you", he said, "most of it good too".

She smiled back at him, it was hard not to, his smile was infectious and she instantly felt comfortable around him, "Yeah, nice to meet you too", she said, not even flinching as his hot hand enclosed her smaller one, she'd grown used to the people around here having warmer than average body temperatures.

"Come on Mac", Leah said ignoring her brother's growl as she hauled his imprint up out of her seat. "You might as well come and meet everyone else".

"I'd really rather not", she said, digging her heels into the dirt in attempts to stop Leah from dragging her around the circle of people that she didn't know.

"I wasn't really giving you a choice", Leah shrugged, not even noticing her attempts to slow the her down.

There was no way Mac was going to remember all of the names of the many people she was introduced to, but several of them stuck in her memory. The first person Leah introduced her too, apart from Jake, was a younger boy though he definitely looked a lot older, named Ollie. He was quiet for the most part and sat away from the rest of the pack, alone except for the slightly smaller boy-man beside him, named Ben.

Although both of the boys maintained they were only fifteen years old Mac found this very hard to believe, they were both at least six feet tall and muscle bound, they had the same russet skin as everyone else, but herself, at the bonfire and the same dark coloured hair. Ollie looked angry, Leah said not to take that personally, he almost always did. His hair was slightly longer than Seth's or Jake's, the dark locks hanging onto his forehead. He wasn't smiling, he never really did, didn't really have much reason to, but Mac was sure that when he did, the kid would have a blinding smile.

It was weird but for some reason Mac liked him instantly, she felt comfortable around him, which wasn't something easily done. She hadn't felt comfortable around anyone but the Clearwater's, Oscar and Annabeth in a long time. She knew she had trust issues but after what she'd been through you couldn't really blame her. So it was weird that she felt so comfortable around so many people she had never met.

Ben was a happy person, you could tell that just by looking at him. In contrast to his constantly solemn buddy, the younger boy was nearly always joking or laughing; Leah had told her that he reminded her of a less annoying version of a younger Seth. Mac could see the resemblance; they had the same laid back attitude and easy smile.

She was introduced to the five tribal elders. Including Sue and Billy Black, who was the Man in the wheel chair, there was Quil Ateara senior, a rather grouchy old man who kept watching her carefully the entire night as well as Bens father, Tim Wilkins, and another, older gentleman called Barry, with a friendly smile who engulfed her in a huge bear hug and told her how lovely it was to finally meet her.

There were many other muscle bound young men she was introduced to that night but she couldn't remember many of their names. She did however remember the names of the women she was introduced to, Kim, a petite girl with full lips, pretty russet skin and eyelashes that most girls would kill for. And Emily, she was older than Kim, and she was still very pretty, all things considering. One side of her face was normal; the other was what Mac could only describe as ripped to shreds. Three long scars ran down the right side of her face, disappearing beneath her shirt. Mac hadn't been able to stop herself from staring, they were... gruesome, and for once Mac felt lucky. She was self conscious about her own scar that maimed the soft skin of her stomach. It could have been so much worse, at least it wasn't on her face where everybody would stared at it every day. At least she was alive... for now.

Mac could tell by watching everyone that they were close, they teased each other constantly, joking and wrestling the entire time, she had to say, it was highly entertaining. The night went on like this, with old Quil watching her carefully and the boys fooling around. Mac sat with Leah and the other women, it was strange seeing Leah so quiet, she hardly said a thing all night, she was fine until Emily, the lady with the scars started getting all kissy and cuddly with the man Mac assumed was her fiancé, Sam. As soon as that started Leah got... weird and decided she had to go.

Although Leah had healed somewhat in the last few years, and was on talking terms with both Sam and Emily, she still had trouble watching their very public displays of affection. It reminded her so much of all the things she had lost, that could have been. It's not that Sam and Emily tried to rub it in, it's just how they were. They were an imprinted couple and sometimes they forgot that not everyone was interested watching in their constant love fest.

Leah's sudden disappearance left Mac alone, sitting off to the side with Sue as she watched all the others fool around. Kim's boyfriend had turned up now and she was over by the fire with him, making goo-goo eyes at each other. It was mildly scaring.

Mac had been sitting happily, watching everyone else fool around and have fun when Billy cleared his throat roughly. Mac was amazed at how fast silence fell over the group, apparently when Billy Black talked _everyone_ listened.

Seth gestured to her to come and sit beside him where he had taken his place by the fire. She gave him a pointed look, poking her tongue out at him as she wiggled down in between Ollie and Ben instead. The boys both gave her a confused look but made room for her anyway, Ollie just grunted, glancing at her before moving over slightly. Ben gave her an enthusiastic grin draping his gangly arm around her shoulders. Seth, who was sitting on the other side of the fire, growled lightly at the younger pup that was getting cosy with his imprint. He had no idea why she didn't want to sit with him, but he had to admit that it stung a little.

"Billy's going to tell us the legends", Ben informed her cheerily, wincing when he noticed the death glare the Beta was giving him, and would continue to give him for the rest of the night. He shuddered at the low growl that escaped Seth's lips when Mac snuggled closer into his side, trying to keep warm.

Mac was completely absorbed in the legends, the way Billy's rich voice painted the picture of the Quileute people, the wolves and the spirit warriors was amazing, his voice was filled with such passion and emotion that it made it impossible to ignore. Mac was fascinated, right up until Billy's voice dropped seriously. Right up until he started to describe the cold ones, those particular descriptions brought up some mental images that her mind had been blocking from her for over a year now. She couldn't help the wave of fear that washed over her as Billy described the blood red eyes and icy cold pale skin of the cold ones who brutally attacked the village. Beautiful but deadly, just like someone else she knew, just like the fuzzy images of her memories that had been getting clearer and clearer recently.

Seth felt the wave of fear washing through the imprint bond, and he watched Mac carefully as she stared into the fire, shrinking further back into the pup's side, he tightened his arms around her, shooting Ollie, then Seth a confused look as he smelt her fear. Ollie growled lightly, subconsciously shifting closer to her as the sour sent of an imprints fear reached his nostrils.

Macs heart nearly stopped when Billy began describing the treaty with the vegetarians, the ones that feed on the blood of animals rather than humans. For several seconds she couldn't hear anything at all, her mind was racing. The description Billy had just given fit her two protectors perfectly. She'd known, deep down she'd _known_ that they weren't human. They were two beautiful, strong and fast to be human but she'd never admitted it to herself before. At first she was shocked, then she was annoyed, hurt and she was really pissed off. They were supposed to be her best friends, they were supposed to care.

Her hands were shaking, with anger or fear she didn't know. What she did know is that she wanted to go home and call Annabeth. They needed to talk. She knew there was a lot that they weren't telling her and she'd decided that needed to change.

She looked up to find Seth staring at her, concern written all over his features. Mac ducked her head, ignoring his penetrating gaze and choosing instead to focus on the flames in the fire pit as they danced and twirled, she was so busy thinking that she didn't even notice when Billy stopped talking and it was only when the two boys beside her turned and gave her matching worried looks, Ollie gently bumping his shoulder into hers when she didn't respond to his question.

"Mac", his deep voice rumbled from beside her. "Are you ok?" he asked her as Seth stood from his place from across the fire and started walking towards the three.

It took her several seconds to realise that nearly everyone around the fire was staring at her intently, for the second time tonight. She smiled at both of the boys, before answering, "yeah, I'm fine". She shook her head vigorously, attempting to clear her mind of the dangerous thoughts that were currently swirling around within her overly confused brain. They were just stories right? They weren't real, they were old legends. Definitely not real... She _really_ hoped they weren't real.

Seth could hardly get a word out of her the entire walk back to his truck, after they'd left the bonfire she had said goodbye to everyone and told then it was nice to meet them, but since then she'd been completely silent and that mixed with the scent of her fear had him on edge and really worried. Mac was never quiet.

He sighed, turning to her as she buckled her seat belt. "Mac what's wrong?" He asked her carefully, gently touching her hand to get her attention. Her head snapped up at the contact, her brown eyes pools of worry, matching the whirlpool of emotions that were currently spinning around inside of her.

"What?" She asked, looking dazed and confused.

He sighed, running his thumb gently across the back of her hand. "Are you ok?"

She gave him a shaky smile nodding her head gently. "I'm fine Seth, tired, that's all. You worry _way_ too much".

He frowned, his eyes scanning her face carefully, even though he _knew_, he could feel, that she wasn't. "Ok, let's get you home then".

Mac fidgeted with the sleeve on her hoody the entire drive back to her house, it was making Seth a little uncomfortable.

She whirled to face him as he shut off the ignition on his truck, that was now parked in her small gravel drive way. She was going to ask him something, more about the tribal legends, but she chickened out. First she would do some research of her own, because if they were right about the cold ones then maybe the whole legend was true. Maybe that's why there were so many damned wolves around here. It would certainly explain why Annabeth thought she was safe here, and why neither of her two friends would come within two miles of the reservation boarder.

She offered him an uneasy smile as she hopped out of the truck, "I'll see you later Seth. Thanks for the ride".

"Anytime", he said, giving her a blinding smile despite the fact he knew something was really bugging her. "Have a good sleep", he added before she slammed the door shut giving him a little wave as she ran up the path to her front door.

He watched her until he was sure she was safe inside and started the ignition, pulling away slowly from her house. He was racking his brain the whole ride home, attempting to figure out what had her so upset. She was fine and then the next minute she was scared out of her mind. The legends weren't that scary, especially for a horror fan like her. The emotions he could feel from her, from the imprint bond were swirling around inside him, they were actually starting to make him a little nauseas.

Her unease didn't lessen as the night progressed, in fact it got worse, and by the time she drifted off into a restless sleep, Seth was starting to get worried.

* * *

The man had blood red eyes.

He stared at her, his face contorted as he smirked evilly and advanced slowly towards her. She scrambled backwards, her back slamming into the cabinet behind her and knocking the pretty vase that had been upon it onto the ground. It shattered with a crash, pieces of glass flying everywhere as it hit the floor.

Her mother had loved that vase.

The man was leaving bloody foot prints as he walked, she didn't know who's blood it was, she couldn't remember, but she was _so scared._

Her throat hurt from screaming. She screamed so loud, she screamed for help but no one came. The man smirked down at her and she thought that if he wasn't so terrifying, he would have been beautiful.

"Don't be scared", the man said, his voice velvety soft as he bent down and ran a cold thumb along the side of her jaw, making a soft disapproving noise in throat when she yanked her head back out of his grasp. "You're mine now".

She started, alarmed by the speed of his movements, a blur to her, as he picked her up held her shaking frame to his chest and spoke softly to her in a language she didn't recognise. He was so cold and his chest was hard, so hard that it was actually painful for her as her elbow dug him. That's when she realised that he wasn't human, he had red eyes, red like blood. He was ice cold and faster than her eyes could follow.

_He wasn't human._

That's when the screaming started again, raspier and more desperate than before. He was going to kill her.

His pearly white fangs were obvious as he grinned at her sardonically. "I think I like you", he stated, more to himself than anybody else. "Yes. You I might keep", he added thoughtfully as he buried his face in her long dark hair, breathing deeply.

"You smell so wonderful darling", he purred into her ear, causing a chill to run down the spine of her already trembling body. "Good enough to eat", he added, his icy cold tongue flicking out to trail along her ear.

_She was going to die._

It was that thought, mixed with the sickly sweet scent of his breathe and the freezing feeling of his tongue that started her sobbing. Tears slowly ran down her pale cheeks as she fought and wriggled in his unrelenting arms, desperate to escape.

He shot her an amused look as he headed towards the sliding glass doors, the ones that led out into the frosty night air.

They never reached the door, something slammed into her captor, a frustrated hiss escaped his throat as he released her, sending her flying, straight through the glass of the sliding door.

She heard the feral growling coming from the man and whatever had tackled him to the ground. She felt the glass shatter around her, cutting the soft skin of her arms and legs. She could feel her bones snap as she hit the ground outside her house, hard, and as she lay on the grass, her vision starting to blur she felt the pain. The pain of her arm, that was twisted grotesquely, the bone protruding from her skin, she felt the pain from the deep of cuts that covered her, especially the deep gash she could feel across her stomach, the blood slowly seeping from her wounds and forming a messy puddle around her.

The last thing she thought before she drifted off into blissful unconsciousness was, she was going to die, and she didn't even get to tell them she was sorry. She was so sorry.

Mac woke up with a scream, it took her several moments to realise she was in her bed. That she was alive.

Her trembling hands ran cautiously over the soft skin of her stomach and along the scar below her belly button, and then up along her upper arm, checking that she was in fact still in one piece.

She always had nightmares, she'd come to accept that. What she wasn't used to was being able to remember them, and quite frankly, she really wished it'd stayed that way.

* * *

_Thanks for reading, please review._


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 7

_I'm sorry this took so long for me to write, I've been super busy this last couple of weeks. Thank you very much to those who reviewed- __fallunder, QahlanKwaiya, The all mighty and powerfulM, Cutie16, mel[dot]wolfgirl, SethsMYwolf, and KerryH- you guys rock!_

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Mac had been skittish all week. She'd hardly slept and her phone was practically glued to her hand. Seth was starting get really worried about her, she was nervous and her fingers were raw and bleeding from her bad habit of chewing them to bits when she had something on her mind.

Seth wanted to know why? She'd been like this since the bonfire, and Seth couldn't figure what had set her off.

Leah had noticed it as well, she'd been even jumpier than usual, and that was saying something, the girl was jumpy as hell on a good day.

Seth lent over in his chair, pulling gently on her little toe, as he had been doing religiously for the last half hour.

Seth Clearwater had taken to spending every spare moment happily curled up on Mac's sofa, annoying the shit out if her in attempts to distract her from whatever had her so worried. He'd made it his personal mission to irritate her this week, and he had to say he was rather enjoying it; his imprint was pretty funny when she was angry. Mac maintained the only reason she even let him in anymore was he came baring gifts of Sues chocolate muffins, a food that had pretty much become a staple in Macs diet since Leah had introduced her there amazingness.

He sighed happily when she wriggled her toes, a cute little growl escaping her throat that he knew meant his distraction technique was working, if she was mad at him then her anger replaced the churning mix of fear and nervousness that had become pretty much constant for her over the last week. He gave her toe another tweak for good measure before returning to surfing the channels for something good to watch.

"Just choose a fucking channel Seth", she snapped from her place on the chair. She _had_ been happily lying on the floor, sprawled lazily in front of the couch, but Seth decided that she would make a good foot rest hence her new, safer, location where she was protected from the deadly stink of Seth Clearwater's feet. Seth thought "deadly" might be a bit of an exaggeration, they weren't _that_ bad. Mac begged to differ, she was pretty sure the inside of her nostrils had been destroyed, never to be the same again. If she couldn't smell anything for the rest of the week she was blaming him.

Seth gave her a cheeky grin before he continued flicking through the channels, causing Mac to bury her face in a cushion and scream a string of curse words in frustration. "But there's so many choices", he whined, ducking when the pillow came whizzing past his head.

"There's like ten channels Seth. I'd hardly call that so many choices", she growled, reaching for another cushion to launch at his annoying head, but instead she received one to the face. She narrowed her eyes at Seth, sitting up in her chair with a dangerous look in her eye. It was that look that told Seth he was in trouble and he smiled at her innocently as she reached for her pillow once more.

He wiggled his eyebrows at her, laughing as the second pillow flew past him, knocking a pile of magazines off the coffee table. She growled in frustration as she missed her target once again, diving for cover behind her chair as Seth returned fire, barely missing her head with her pillow.

"Oh it is on Mac", he laughed, rolling behind the couch with all the pillows.

Mac poked her head out from behind the chair, glowering at Seth as she realised that he'd hogged all of the ammunition. "No fair Seth", she whined, "You snaked all the pillow missiles!"

"It's the quick and the dead", he yelled, grinning as he caught her last pillow inches from his face. This left him with four pillows to her zero, damn it she was going to get her ass kicked.

"You should surrender", he suggested cheerily. "Then I might show you some mercy... If I'm feeling generous, but considering how mean you've been to me lately it's a pretty big if."

She paused for a minute, considering his proposition. "What happens if I refuse?"

He grinned, poking his head out from behind the safety of the sofa, "Then I will show you absolutely no mercy. You're ticklish right?" He asked wriggling his eyebrows at her.

He laughed at the face she pulled as he asked her; he could've sworn she actually blanched. Seth knew that she was ticklish, Leah had tickled her so much the other day that she'd actually nearly peed her pants and as soon as Leah had let her go she had sprinted to the toilet, tripping over half way down the hall and getting some mean carpet burn and carpet burn _really_ hurts.

She narrowed her eyes at him as he laughed at her, "Stick it Clearwater", she growled, before standing and sprinting down the short hall of her house, feeling really ninja like as she dive rolled into her room, dodging two of Seth's pillow missiles that he may or may not have thrown slightly off to the left.

Seth paused beside her door, peaking slowly around the corner. The little pink stuffed bunny she threw barely missed his nose, its furry little tail brushing his face. He heard her manic laughter as he dropped to the ground, wriggling on his belly into the scary and dangerous place that is Macs room. He cursed lightly as something hard landed on his back, not that it actually hurt but still, that was cheating.

"OUCH", he yelled dramatically, rubbing his back vigorously. He smiled when she popped her head out from behind the other side of her bed, looking more worried than she would ever admit. She hadn't actually meant to hit him with that but she had a tendency to get carried away.

Seth hissed in fake pain, causing her to jump up from her shelter and to kneel beside him, touching the spot he was clutching with tentative fingers. He smiled as he felt her fingers run gently over his back, he liked the way it felt when she touched him.

He had known her for just over a month and in that short time the bond between them had grown stronger. The more time he spent with her and got to know her, the more he could feel her and the more her pull affected him. The compulsion to be near her was growing, making it hard to stay away from her for long periods of time. It also made it harder to be around her because all he wanted to was bundle her into his arms and hold her, stroke her soft skin and bury his face into her hair. But he couldn't do that because that would freak her out and a freaked out imprint who thought he was insane was the last thing he wanted.

"Oh shit Seth, I am so sorry", she rushed out as he rolled over to face her, his eyes still squished closed in fake pain.

He opened one eye, unable to help the rather evil smile that crossed his face as he looked at her. That was when she realised he was messing with her and the look on her face changed from one of concern to one of horror.

She let out a terrified squeak as she tried to scramble away, but it was too late he had her flipped over and pinned to the ground before she could even blink. She wriggled furiously as she tried to free herself, but his one hand that he was using to hold her hands above her head was more than enough to stop her useless attempts at escape.

"You cheated Seth", she accused, her eyes narrowing as he smiled down at her.

He shot her an innocent smile as his free hand trailed down her sides, causing her to squirm desperately and spit out a string of curse words that were so creative that Seth was momentarily stunned.

"You Mac, have the foulest mouth I have ever heard", he said smiling hugely at her as his hands continued to mercilessly tease her sides. "And that's saying something, I mean you've met my sister right?"

He grinned as she begged him so stop between fits of laughter, tears running down her cheeks as she gasped for breathe. "_Pl-plea-eas-se S-seth, I-ii'm gunna p-pee my p-pants_".

He chuckled heartily before halting his attack on her side, his hand still holding her smaller ones prisoner above her head. His laughter stopped as he noticed the way her cheeks had flushed and how her chest heaved as she gasped for breath. Seth thought Mac's hair looked really pretty out and her shampoo smelt amazing, his eyes darkened as he watched her regain her breath beneath him. He was suddenly very aware of the compromising position they were in and he didn't mind _at all_.

The intensity of the look in Seth's eyes made Mac shiver and other parts of her body tingle with need. She squeezed her eyes shut, attempting to block out the Seth's dark brown orbs that were burning with something which Mac thought looked awfully like desire. It couldn't be desire, could it? He let out a low growl as the smell of her sweet arousal flooded his nostrils, his hand instinctively tightening its grip on her wrists.

She could feel his breath ghosting over her face as he exhaled, his face feeling a lot closer to her own than it had been when she had close her eyes. She knew he should tell him to stop, tell him to get off her and leave her alone. But she also knew that she liked Seth and as much as she told herself that she didn't, that she shouldn't because he was her best friend's brother, she couldn't help the way he made her tummy wiggle nervously every time he smiled at her, or the way he could make her laugh when no one else could, forgetting even if only for a moment, all of her troubles. But she knew she couldn't like him because he was her best friends brother, and so she fought her feelings for him, not willing to ruin the friendship she had between her and Leah.

All thoughts of resistance vanished from her head the moment Seth Clearwater's soft lips brushed over her own, so gently that she wondered if she imagined it.

Seth couldn't help it, she looked so adorable with her eyes squished closed and her soft pink lips pouting up at him, the smell off her arousal nearly driving him insane. He moved his lips softly over hers pulling back and searching her face for a reaction, smiling when her eyes remained jammed tightly shut.

He hesitated before leaning back down towards her, running his nose down the side of her neck and letting himself inhale the intoxicating scent that was his imprint. He'd been wanting to do that since the moment he'd set eyes on her. He flicked his tongue out, tentatively tasting the soft skin of her neck, causing her to moan delicately and him to run his hand down her side, gripping her thigh gently as she hooked her leg around his waist, pulling her closer to him.

He can't even remember releasing his hold on her hands but when he felt her fingers tangle themselves in his short hair and tug his lips back towards to hers he snarled hungrily and quickly obliged her. This time when their lips met she knew she wasn't imagining it.

His mouth was hungry on hers, his tongue flicking out to run across her bottom lip and Mac hesitated for only a second before she opened her mouth to him allowing his tongue access. Seth growled lightly when he felt her teeth pull gently on his bottom lip, teasing him as her hands tentatively explored the muscled expanse of his chest.

The little voice in the back of her head was chanting at her to stop, but a much louder stronger voice was telling her to rip all his clothes off and have her wicked way with him. The louder voice had had some really good points and at the moment it was winning, it shouted in glee as Seth separated himself from her momentarily, pulling his shirt over his head and revealing his drool worthy chest and stomach to her. She blushed as he wiggled his eyebrows at her, leaning back in and kissing her gently as she wrapped her arms around his neck, her nails scraping down his back and causing him to shudder in pleasure.

It was only a moment later that an earth shattering howl rang out through the reservation, causing Seth's head to snap up and curse quietly.

Mac blushed furiously as his eyes settled back on her face, softening as they did so. He rolled carefully off her still panting body.

"I gotta go Mac, I really don't want too, but I don't have a choice", he said reluctantly, trailing his finger along her jaw before standing, pulling her up with him. "I need you to promise me something", he told the very shocked looking Mac quickly.

"What?" She asked quietly, blushing as he took her hands in his own.

"I want you to promise me you won't leave the house until I get back, ok?" He said, not able to keep the pleading tone out of his voice as he watched a familiar frown spread across her face.

"Why?" She said obviously not liking being told what to do.

"Please Mac, I need you to do this for me", Seth begged, his eyes silently pleading with her to agree.

Dark eyes momentarily evaluated him before she nodded gently, a worried look still plastered on her face.

He let out a sigh of relief as he swept her up in his arms, not able to stop himself from giving her one more soft kiss on her lips before he headed quickly for the door. "I'll be back soon Mac, stay in the house".

And with that he was gone, leaving a very flustered and worried Mac standing alone in her bedroom.

She wasn't sure what just happened but the butterfly's in her tummy were going insane and with the eerie wolf howls still ringing out from throughout the reservation she was more than a little worried about Seth. With an exasperated sigh she plonked down on her bed, running through the afternoons events in her head. Mac knew one thing for sure, she liked Seth Clearwater more than she should. She hoped Leah wouldn't be too mad. It was in this moment that Mac decided she was a bad person and as the little voices inside her argued about her friendship with Leah and her feelings for Seth, Mac decided she needed to go for a walk.

She never had been very good at following instructions.

* * *

If she'd known what was going to happen, she ever would have left her house. But she was pissed off, pissed off at Annabeth, pissed off at Oscar and Pissed off at Seth. Mac had a tendency to do stupid things when she was angry.

Leaving the house was a bad idea, after all Seth had told her not to and more often than not Seth knew what he was talking about. Leaving the reservation was a worse idea. It had been a big fuck you to her two protectors and to Seth.

How dare he get all hot and heavy with her and then just run out with barely even a word? He obviously regretted kissing her, she really couldn't blame him. Mac had always been a little hard on herself and she was pretty sure a guy like Seth deserved someone better than her, all broken up and twisted inside. Even if he was a ginormous jerk, he still deserved better than her.

Mac was angry at Seth but she was more worried about Leah hating her. You just didn't make out with your best friends brother, it was definitely not cool. Maybe it wouldn't matter, she wasn't planning on talking to Seth anytime soon, maybe never again. She was sure that seeing him again was going to be awkward as hell, considering he'd kinda left her standing confused and alone in her little shack with barely even a word.

"_FUCK IT!"_ Mac yelled loudly, kicking the ground angrily and startling a nearby squirrel who'd been watching her inquisitively. The squirrel thought that perhaps this human was a little bit crazy, and that following her was probably not worth the risk of stealing one of the sweet treats she had hidden in her pocket. It retreated back into the tree line as the girl started yelling angrily at a tree, kicking it violently, which only caused her to scream louder as she hobbled along for a few minutes before finding a sheltered place in the trees and collapsing to the ground angrily. The squirrel wondered if the human knew its eyes were leaking?

She only realised she was crying when she felt the hot tears splash onto her bare arms, it was cold out and in her haste she hadn't grabbed a sweatshirt. It would be her least serious mistake of the night.

Mac hated crying, it made her feel like a wimp. In her opinion she'd been crying far too much lately, it wasn't healthy and she was sure if she kept it up her eyes were going to be permanently red and puffy.

Red and puffy wasn't really a good look for her.

The howling had stopped. She guessed they had caught whatever they were chasing and now it was eerily quiet. Everything was silent, and to be honest it was freaking Mac the fuck out, it was _neve_r silent here.

"_Mac what the hell are you doing out here?"_ A voice hissed from behind her causing Mac to squeal and jump up off her spot on the ground, whirling to face her possible attacker.

Oscar looked _really_ angry. "_Are you fucking stupid_?" he roared, stepping closer to her and grabbing her arm. His skin was icy cold and it made Mac shiver as she thought back to the legends. What if they were true? What if her two best friends in the world were vampires? The very same thing which Mac was sure had caused this situation in the first place. Mac didn't know what to do, they were her friends and they'd looked after her. They'd _saved_ her.

Mac had been thinking this over a lot lately, she was pretty sure that she'd forgive them eventually, she did love them after all. Once her loyalty was earned, it was pretty much there for life.

She rolled her eyes at him, yanking her arm from his grasp. "You didn't really give me much of a choice", she yelled angrily. "You didn't answer _any_ of my calls _you prick_. _**You were here the whole damn time and you didn't even tell me**_".

"We only just got here" he growled, looking nervously in the direction of the loud howling which had started up again with a renewed vigour. "And it was for your own good. Why can't you listen for once?"

Oscar's eyes flickered to behind her, causing Mac to notice the angelic figure of Annabeth standing behind her and looking angrier than Mac had ever seen her. And that was saying something; she was starting to think that this might have been a bad idea.

"We need to get her back onto the reservation", Annabeth said hurriedly to Oscar while she completely ignored Mac who was standing awkwardly beside him.

That was when Mac spoke up. She figured she'd already pissed them off this much and gotten herself in the shit, she might as well get some answers for her trouble. "_**Not until you two tell me what the hell is going on" **_she yelled, shrugging Oscar's cold hand off her shoulder.

"She smells like them", Oscar stated, wrinkling his nose in disgust.

She was confused, she smelt like who? And it was more than slightly freaky that they could smell her, the more she watched them the more obvious it became to her that her friends were far from human.

Annabeth frowned, finally looking at Mac and giving her a worried look. "Who have you been with today?" she asked curtly.

Mac growled, earning a surprised look from both of her so called friends."It's none of your fucking business who I've been with", she snapped. "You never tell me what's going on so why should I tell you what I've been doing? Why do you even care?"

Annabeth sighed sadly, her gaze flickering off to the forest behind her as the howling got louder. "Now isn't the time or place for this conversation. We need to go. _Now_", she said desperately, her worried gaze now fixed on the dark trees behind Mac.

Oscar hissed, grabbing Mac and pulling her into his side faster than was humanly possible. The tribe's legends were looking more and more likely by the second. "It's too late", he said lowly from their new position, slightly behind Annabeth and facing the forest.

Mac shifted nervously as Oscar cursed the forest silent as the two vampires, because that was what Mac was now sure they were, stood poised to attack. It was that thought that set Macs fear levels sky rocketing and her heart beat to pick up her pace like she had ran a marathon.

Oscar gave her a gentle squeeze, pulling her closer to his side and giving her a small smile. "It'll be fine kiddo", he said, not sounding as confident as he looked.

His head snapped up moments later, a feral hiss escaping his lips, Annabeth tensed beside him but remained silent. Mac looked up, expecting to see the demon that had been hunting her for so long. What she found was not the man with the terrifying blood red eyes. In fact the creatures slowly emerging from the trees didn't resemble anything human at all. They were wolves. Giant fucking wolves. There were nine of them, the biggest, a huge russet coloured wolf, snarled at them as it stepped forward, flanked by a smaller silvery wolf on its left and a equally huge sandy wolf on its right. Both of the wolves were snarling angrily as they approached, causing Oscar to hiss again as they closed in on the group.

There were more, circling them, some hidden in the trees and it occurred to Mac that they were horribly outnumbered and that they were going to die. They were all going to die and it was her fault. She made a sad noise in her throat, wanting to apologise to her two friends for not listening to them but not able to form the words. _She should have listened to them_.

The noise drew the attention of the sandy coloured wolf, its chocolate brown eyes snapping to meet hers. Instead of another growl like Mac had expected, the wolf lowered its huge head to her level and made a soft rumbling noise deep in its chest, the noise was comforting rather than scary. The wolf was strangely familiar and she couldn't shake the feeling that she had seen it before. Its gaze flickered back to her occasionally but for most of the time its attention remained focused on Oscar and Annabeth, with Annabeth still crouched and ready to pounce.

The wolves stopped their advance growling at the sudden movement of Annabeth raising her hands in the air in surrender as she abandoned her crouched position.

"We haven't crossed your land wolves of La Push", Annabeth stated evenly, her hands still raised. "We don't want any trouble, let us leave quietly".

Both the sandy wolf and the smaller sliver wolf snarled loudly, clearly not pleased with this proposition. The russet wolf growled lowly as his gaze flickered to the very pale, worried looking Mac who was still pinned to Oscar's side.

"She has nothing to do with you", Annabeth said lowly as Oscar hissed in agreement, turning slightly and blocking Mac from their multiple gazes, causing another round of growling to irrupt from the wolves. Apparently she did.

Annabeth paused, turning to face the sandy wolf, who raised his hackles and snarled as she evaluated him. "She smells like you wolf", she said slowly. "Mac," she said, her eyes not leaving the wolf in front of her who was now baring its teeth at her dangerously. "who were you with this morning before you came here?"

"Why does that even matter?" She asked, poking her head out from behind her ice cold protector, her gaze flickering from Annabeth to the sandy wolf, who was again looking at her intently.

"What was his name Mac?" She asked again, her tone that leaving no room for arguing.

"Seth came over for a while", she said sighing as Oscar stepped in between her and the wolves once more blocking them from her view.

Oscar sighed audibly, "trust you Mac, couldn't you have picked someone else to moon over?"

Mac blushed, giving Oscar the death glare that he had missed so much, and causing a small smile to flash onto his face momentarily. "I am not mooning over him asshole", she hissed.

"Sure you weren't honey", he said, giving her a sceptical look and patting her head gently.

Seth snarled at that, not impressed with the leech touching his imprint, or addressing her as honey.

Annabeth sighed, glancing at Mac before meeting Seth's eye once more. "We are not going to harm her", she said seriously. "One of you needs to take up your human form so we can talk this out".

There was a silence before one of the wolves standing further back disappeared into the trees. He reappeared not long after wearing a pair of worn looking denim shorts. Mac froze as he walked towards them, stopping between the large russet wolf and the sandy coloured one. He looked familiar but it took Mac several seconds to realise where she had seen him before, and when she did she nearly fell over. It was probably a good thing that Oscar still had one arm firmly around her waist, stopping her from tumbling to the ground and looking like an idiot.

"You're Seth and Leah's friend, Paul, from the bonfire", she stated before anyone else had a chance to speak. "What the hell is going on?" She choked out weakly.

"You heard the legends", he rumbled out watching the two vampires carefully. "They're true, and you're little friends here are more dangerous than you realise".

"They're not going to hurt me", she said quietly as she examined the tattoo etched into his right shoulder. It was the same tattoo Seth and Leah had. "You're the ones coming out of nowhere and going all angry wolf on me with your scary teeth and shit".

He sighed, his expression dark as he glared at her companions. "They're the ones who eat little girls like you for lunch", he said coldly, watching her face blanch slightly as she thought that through.

Oscar and Annabeth both hissed loudly, Oscar taking a step threateningly towards him as he pushed Mac behind him. "We would never hurt Mac or any other human for that matter", he growled. "You on the other hand are free game", he snarled lowly, ignoring the echoing growls from every member of the pack.

"Oscar calm down", Annabeth said coolly. "We aren't looking for a fight".

Oscar sighed sadly, stepping back closer to Mac, who was holding onto the back of his shirt in an attempt to stop him from getting any closer to the pack of angry wolves.

"Let the girl go, she stays with us", Paul growled once he'd calmed the shaking of his hands, a feat that would have been impossible a few years ago. "She's pack", he said, watching Mac carefully.

Both of the vampires frowned at that, Oscar snarling and telling the wolves exactly where they could shove their pack.

"You're vampires", Mac whispered sadly, vicious interrupting the snarling that had erupted again. "And what the hell do you mean I'm pack?" she asked the now silent clearing. She stepped out from behind Oscar, giving them both sad looks. "He's a vampire too, isn't he?" She asked, shivering and wrapping her arms around herself as wind picked up, a few droplets of water landing on her bare arm.

Annabeth nodded sadly, wincing as Mac stepped back, away from her as she attempted to place her hand on her arm. "We aren't like him, McKenna honey", Annabeth said, her tone pleading, begging for Mac to understand. "We do not feed off humans like he does, we are not going to hurt you. We would _never_ hurt you."

"I know", she replied quietly. "I knew you were different from everyone else the second I met you. You're like the vampires out of the legends right? You eat animals?" she said looking at Annabeth for confirmation, who smiled sadly and nodded.

"We wanted to tell you honey but after... Well, after that we didn't think you would understand and we didn't want to scare you. It was for your own good", she said softly.

"_You always say that, and I'm sick of it_", Mac yelled suddenly as she stepped forward. "_It's always for my own good, dumping me on the rez was for my own good, not telling me where you were or what you were doing was for my own good and now this? Lying to me is _**not**_ good for me Annabeth and I am sick of it. I want to know what's going on. At least then I'll know why I'm so damned scared all the time, I'll know what to expect. So stop fucking lying to me!"_

Annabeth sighed tiredly, "fine, from now on we'll tell you the truth McKenna. If you want to know something we will tell you", she promised, her eyes softening as she noticed Macs badly shaking hands and the tears in her eyes.

Mac nodded before turning on the confused looking Paul, "Do you know where Seth is?"

Paul didn't answer her but shifted uncomfortably, not sure how to answer her question.

Oscar snorted, drawing the attention of everyone in the clearing. "What? Mac asked her tone clipped.

"Seth's the dude I can smell all over you right?" He asked not sounding at all pleased at that idea, nodding when Mac confirmed his suspicions. "Then he's right there" he said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world , pointing to the large sandy coloured wolf who whined and lowered his head as Macs face blanched and she shot him a betrayed look, "apparently we weren't the only ones lying about what we are", he added.

"_Seth_?" she whispered, searching the wolfs eyes for an answer. He whined dropping down onto his belly as she stepped back away from him. "You're fucking shitting me right?" She asked but knowing it was true as Annabeth shook her head sadly and Paul refused to meet her gaze. "And Leah?" She asked, her gaze settling on the smallest wolf, that was obviously female and giving her a sad look.

"You both lied to me", she said sadly, stepping back towards Oscar, who wrapped a strong, cold arm around her waist as her knees buckled beneath her. She tried to hold back the tears that threatened to spill over but her attempts were unsuccessful. "_I hate you_", she hissed as the hot tears trailed down her cheeks, red slightly from the cold.

"I'm never speaking to either you ever again, _especially you",_ she added, looking at Seth angrily, causing him to whimper quietly. He didn't want his imprint to hate him, he liked her, she _couldn't_ hate him.

It was only moments later that her eyelids flitted shut, her knees giving way completely as Oscar scooped her up, holding her softly against his chest.

"It seems we have a lot to talk about, wolves of La Push", Annabeth stated sadly, sweeping a stray piece of Macs dark hair put of her face as she gave her a fond look.

"If you want McKenna to stay on the reservation there are some things you should know".

* * *

Seth was furious, furious with the leech holding _his _imprint like that, furious at Mac for not listening to him, and furious at the blonde headed leech for revealing a secret to Mac that wasn't hers to share. And now his imprint was cold and shivering in the arms of a leech that seemed to like Mac way too much for Seth's liking. Not that it'd be different if she were awake, she hated him now after all.

That had hurt, not only was she his imprint but Seth _liked_ Mac. She was funny, cute, and more than a little bit weird, but he liked her. He supposed he was falling pretty fast, after all he'd only known her for just over a month but he'd always been like that. When Seth Clearwater fell he always fell fast and hard, it was just easier this time, knowing she was his imprint. His father had always told him he needed to slow down, think things a little through before he jumped in head first.

He hated that the fear in her eyes and in the air was not because of the vampires but because of him, _Mac was scared of him_.

The female leech wanted to talk and normally Seth would be all for talking, he was usually a very easy going guy. But that leech had his sleazy hands on _his_ imprint and it was making him more than a little agitated, so he could be forgiven for not really being in the talking mood. He was pretty sure he wouldn't be able to phase back at the moment anyway. Not with his imprint in this much danger.

It had taken him a couple of minutes for him to realise why the pair of vampires sounded so familiar to him, these were the two friends Mac was always taking phone calls from. Mac was friends with vampires, granted they were vegetarian ones, but he still couldn't stand the idea of her being anywhere near them.

Seth's lips were still pulled back, revealing his sharp fangs for the benefit of the male leech, Oscar, who would flick him a cheeky grin every now and then, enjoying the way Seth growled when he did so. It earned him a sharp look from Annabeth but he couldn't help himself, the pup was just too much fun.

"McKenna has been with us for over a year now", Annabeth informed the wolves, all of whom were still in their wolf forms except for the towering Alpha and the agitated she wolf, who'd phased when it had become clear that the two vampires meant no harm to either them, or the beta's unconscious imprint, who was had stopped shaking when one of the two vampires had wrapped her in their jacket. "I can't tell you the whole story, for it isn't mine to tell you", she informed them, her gaze lingering sadly on the Macs pale face.

"But the main point of this story is that the danger McKenna was in was far too great for us to leave her alone", Seth didn't like that, and judging from the thoughts that flashed through his pack mates minds, including the pups patrolling back in La Push they agreed, if it was safer for her to be constantly in the care of two potentially deadly vampires than with her family then you had to wonder what sort of danger she was in alone. Ollie was particularly unimpressed by this development; Ben and he were rather fond of the packs newest imprint, she had after all shared her lollies with them at the bonfire and that was enough for both of the young pups to have a soft spot for her. It was already a well known fact that McKenna Grey didn't share her lollies with just anyone.

"It was safer for her to be with us constantly but, recently, we have had... problems that needed dealing with. And so we found the next safest place for her to remain alone, on your reservation, of course we were hoping she would choose to make friends of the human kind but McKenna has a nose for trouble, so we really shouldn't have been surprised", she said meeting Seth's eye carefully.

"What was so bad it was better for her to be with you? If she's in danger we need to know about it", Jake rumbled, Leah giving her unconscious friend a worried look.

"The problem we have to deal with, it... _he, _is overly interested in McKenna. If she wasn't with us, she wouldn't be here at all right now", Annabeth sad seriously, giving the Alpha a worried look as he frowned, his displeasure echoed in the rumbles and snarls from his pack. Seth's snarl of rage being particularly vocal.

"Your kind?" the Alpha questioned, shooting Seth his best calm the hell down look.

"Yes", Annabeth said, her face deadly serious. "He's very old and smart. I have been tracking him for most of this life".

"How long is that exactly?" he asked curiously.

She smiled at him. "Longer than you could even comprehend pup", she stated, smiling gently at Oscar who'd asked her the same question frequently and received an equally vague answer.

Her soft smile quickly faded when she noticed the way the large sandy wolf was watching the unconscious Mac carefully. "What is the connection between your Beta and our McKenna that make her pack Alpha?"

Jake frowned, "that's not for me to tell, it is between Seth and Mac. Not you".

She frowned at that, not finding Jakes answer acceptable she turned instead to the massive wolf standing defensively beside the Alpha, his eye still fixed worriedly on the sleeping girl in Oscar's arms. "Your wolf has chosen our McKenna as your mate?" she asked, her tone clipped. Annabeth already knew the answer to that question, it was obvious in the way he watched her, and even when his eyes weren't watching her his other senses remained tuned into her. He was more protective of her than the rest of the pack and she knew he had been spending a lot of his time around at Macs house; he had been there almost constantly lately. Annabeth knew more about the wolves and there ways than the pack would like to think.

Seth didn't react to her question, his brown eyes flickering to her momentarily before refocusing on Mac as she whined and wiggled a little in her sleep.

Annabeth sighed, "If that is the case and she is not your wolfs chosen one then you won't mind her leaving the reservation with us. She's been here far too long as it is", she said smiling at the snarl that ripped out of Seth's mouth, his teeth bared dangerously once more as he stepped closer to her, halting only when Jakes massive hand wove itself into the thick fur of the Beta's neck. "That is what I thought", she stated simply, giving the angry wolf an easy smile.

"Mac stays", Jake said, shooting his Beta an amused look. "Way to stay calm dude".

"I believe your pack has met our problem already", Annabeth stated, getting back to the more serious subject of the reason Mac was here like this in the first place.

"The leech with long dark hair who got away last week? He's the one you're after?" Jake asked, his hand tightening on the Betas neck as the entire pack let out a chorus of snarls and growls, Leah's face darkening dangerously as she pictured his taunting face, only metres in front of her.

"That definitely sounds like him", Oscar said, his arms tightening subconsciously around the young woman in his arms.

"You should not underestimate him Alpha", Annabeth said carefully. "He is more dangerous than you could ever imagine".

The two vampires shared a look before Oscar stood, walking towards the she wolf carefully. She tensed as he gently handed her Mac, still bundled in Annabeths coat and reeking of vampire. "Tell Mac not to panic, we'll call her tonight", he said, giving her a fond look before moving back, to stand beside Annabeth, who gave them an evaluating look.

"Look after her wolves", she said warningly, slowly backing away towards the tree line. "We'll be seeing you". And with that they were gone, the movement so fast that it was a blur even to their eyes, which raised the question, if she was this dangerous and she hadn't managed to kill him yet, what were they really dealing with?

* * *

_Hope you liked it, please review =) Also I am very sorry about the lack of chocolate muffins in this chapter =(_


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 8**

_Thank you so much for reading, but especially to the wonderful people who review my story, mel[dot]wolfgirl, The all mighty and powerful, Qahlan Kwaiya, Cutie16, scbear7, shelbron, and chicadee74... =D_

_I do not own Twilight, only my OC's =)_

_

* * *

_Her toes were cold. That was the first thing Mac thought when she woke up. The second was where the hell was she? The room was familiar but it took her several seconds and one look at the messy floor to realise that she was in Seth Clearwater's bedroom.

She nearly fell out the bed when she remembered what ahd happened. Her mind flashed with images of a very hot looking shirtless Seth, Annabeth, Oscar, and some giant ass wolves. Was it weird that she was angrier at Seth for leaving her standing alone in her room like an idiot after a kinda hot make out session than for forgetting to tell her that he turned into a giant wolf in his spare time? She was pretty sure it was.

Mac was suddenly very aware that there were people talking not far away in the living room. She could hear her name mentioned way more often than she would have liked. Mac sighed deeply, cringing when the voices stopped and she heard footsteps coming towards the bedroom, the bedroom with a lovely hole through the wall.

Has it ever been said that McKenna Grey does not make very good decisions when she's angry?

As the footsteps got closer Mac panicked and did the thing that cam easiest to her, something she was very used to doing. She ran. And maybe it was a bad idea but Mac was angry, confused and if she was honest more than a little bit scared. She cringed as she heard loud voices erupt inside the house, as soon as her feet touched the damp grass on the ground outside Seth's bedroom window. She wasted no time, barely looking back as she sprinted off in the direction of her little house. She knew they would find her there but it was her house and it was the only place she had. As soon as she got home she planned on calling Annabeth and telling her to get her out of here right now. She was not staying on the reservation any longer.

Unfortunately she never made it very far, she really should have known better than to try out run a shape shifter but she never had been very good at thinking things through.

At first she thought it was Seth's warm arms that had wrapped around her waist, lifting her easily over a muscled shoulder as he started walking back towards the house. But this person wasn't as tall as Seth and she noticed him a second later standing stiffly a couple of feet behind her, a sad look on his face as he watched her curse and swear at Ollie to put her _the fuck down. _They young wolf simply ignoring her attempts to escape, the only time he even took any notice of her at all was when she bit his shoulder in an attempt to make him put her down, and even then it was only a surprised grunt followed by a tired sigh. After that Mac quickly realised that there was no escaping her young captor and she decided that if she was going down she might as well do it with some dignity.

Ollie thought that it was much easier to carry Mac when she wasn't fighting like this, her arms crossed angrily as she hung limply over a back far more muscled than any fifteen year olds back should be. Ben thought that was all well and good but he'd preferred it when Mac was focused on escaping Ollie, instead of glaring at him as he trailed along behind his closest friend. It was making him more than a little uncomfortable.

Ollie thought Ben needed to harden the hell up; at least she didn't _bite_ him.

Seth walked not far behind three, watching her carefully. She refused to meet his eyes the entire time. If he was trying to get her to talk to him again then he was going about it the wrong way. Mac didn't respond well to being forced to do things she didn't want to do. The more someone tells her she has to, the more she'll fight it.

They were sitting around the dinner table but they had stopped trying to get her to talk long ago and after a couple of minutes of silence she had wondered back through to the bedrooms, choosing to curl up in Leah's bed instead of Seth's. Mac was pretty sure that she would forgive Leah eventually, _if_ she explained what the fuck was going. Apparently Mac wasn't to be trusted alone because her two young guards had followed her into the room, Ollie was leaning against the door, looking rather bored and Ben on the floor of Leah's small but tidy room.

Mac couldn't sleep, she tried, but it just wasn't happening, so instead she chose to spend her time making Ben as uncomfortable as possible. It really was rather amusing. As she stared at the young man's face, her glare terrifying enough to rival even Sue's when she had discovered that Seth and Jake had raided her cookie stash again. Ben stared at the floor, his nose twitching uncomfortably every now and then as he tried to ignore Macs eyes boring into the side of his head.

His nose always twitched when he was uncomfortable. And right now he was _very_ uncomfortable. Ben was the lowest ranking wolf in the pack, making him very submissive, and Mac was the Betas, imprint making her very dominant. So having her anger focused solely on him made him more than a little nervous.

Ollie on the other hand was enjoying this immensely and was having a hard time keeping his face in the indifferent slightly pissed off expression that he usually maintained. His lips were twitching, threatening to turn up into a rare smile.

Ben, noticing this turned to give his best friend an irritated look. "_Dude don't_ _smile_ this isn't cool" he said quietly, wincing as Mac's glare intensified. "_She's really starting to freak me out", _he whispered giving a surprised yelp as something hard hit him in the back of his head.

He snapped around to face Mac, who was still glaring as she had been before he'd turned away. He frowned turning back to look at Ollie as a snort of laughter escaped his lips, but by the time he looked at his friend his face was its usual impassive mask.

This time it was Ben's turn to glare, shooting Ollie a suspicious look before cursing as another unidentified solid object hit him in the back of his head.

"What the _hell?", _he yelled, whirling around to face Mac who only glared at him harder, making him abandon his aggressive position slightly, but he did manage to maintain his pissed off glare. A glare that grew more intense as he turned to face Ollie, who was unable to hide the blinding grin that had reached his face after Mac's second attack on his now less than happy friend. Ben couldn't help it if his glare softened ever so slightly at the smile on Ollie's face. The two boys hadn't always been friends but they had known each other since kindergarten. Ben had known Ollie well enough then to know that he hadn't always been like this, reserved and angry, always distancing himself from others. Once he had been happy, but that was a long time ago. Ben could count the times he'd seen Ollie smile since then, _really_ smile, on one hand. So he could be forgiven for giving his friend a returning smile, instead of thumping him in the head like he'd intended.

Mac might have smiled to, but she couldn't really help it, Ollie's smiles had that effect on most people.

That smile disappeared from her face when Leah walked into the room, bumping her shoulder playfully into Ollie's as she passed him in the doorway and stepping on Ben's stomach, rather than stepping over him. He grunted, but otherwise ignored Leah as she settled down on the bed next to Mac, who was vehemently ignoring her.

"Mac... _Mac_ listen to me", Leah asked, the pleading tone in her voice forcing Mac to met her eye for the first time since the incident in the clearing. "_I'm sorry ok?_ I was going to tell you. _We_ were going to tell you... But it'd hard to tell someone you explode in to a giant wolf on command_. I didn't want you to hate me_... But that kinda back fired huh?"

Mac sighed flopping back on the bed and running a tired hand over her face before speaking, "_fuck_ _Leah..._ I don't hate you. I'm really mad and I _want_ to hate you but I can't". She gave her friend a wry smile adding in a tone that suggested she was speaking to a small child or her pet dog, "How can I hate this face? You're too cute! And when you puff into a puppy your even cuter, you're so fluffy wuffy", she grinned enjoying Leah cringe as Mac pinched her cheeks pulling them a little harder than necessary, but Mac had said she didn't hate her, not that she wasn't mad at her. She was still _very_ mad at her and so she figured Leah deserved a little bit of punishment.

"So you don't hate us?" Leah asked, her words coming out slightly slurred as Mac tortured her cheeks mercilessly.

"I said I don't hate _you_" Mac said ceasing her attack on Leah's face, which was slightly pink from the assault. "I don't hate Ollie either, he's my favourite. And I'm contractorily obliged to forgive Ben because he let me hit him in the head with some of your nifty scented candles... _Seth_ on the other hand I still hate", she said, hissing his name like a curse word. "I'll probably hate him forever because he's an asshole...", Mac said more loudly than necessary for the benefit of Seth, who was standing in the living room and may or may not have broken the mantle piece over the fireplace with his hand.

Leah gave her a confused look, sparing a glance towards the living room where Seth had begun shaking slightly and was being forced outside by the Alpha. "Why do you hate Seth and not me?" She asked as she stared in the direction of her still shaking brother, who'd paused outside her window, as curious as Leah was to hear the answer to her question. "Not that I'm complaining", she added.

Mac sighed, frowning as she thought about her answer, "I'm mad at both of you for not telling me about the whole wolf thing, I can see why you didn't, but it still sucks". Her face reddened slightly as she remembered _exactly_ why she wasn't talking to Seth Clearwater for the rest of her life, "I hate Seth for an entirely different reason, I highly doubt he cares what I think about him anyway", she added trying hard to hide the hurt look that flashed across her face.

They all saw it, the sadness in her eyes. Their super natural senses faster than she realised. "What did he do?" Leah asked gritting her teeth in annoyance, Ben and Ollie glancing at her curiously.

Mac sighed angrily, hiding her face under a pillow before answering sadly. "Nothing, it doesn't matter because I won't be speaking to him _ever_ again. Can we just drop it?"

Leah stood up quickly, heading towards the door. "Sure", she said as she paused in the doorway, beside Ollie who was staring outside the window where the Beta was slumped down angrily against the wall, racking his brains for what exactly he did to make his imprint this mad at him.

Her emotions were wild, fluctuating from anger to sadness to shame. He _really_ didn't like it when he felt his imprints shame. There was the underlying feeling of fear, Seth wasn't sure what she was scared of but if he thought back to when he first imprinted on her then he realised that it had always been there. His imprint was always scared, always worrying, she _never_ felt safe and after today he really had to wonder what she wasn't telling him, the rest of the story that Annabeth had refused to tell them. Seth wanted to know Mac's story but he doubted that was going to happen. The way he was going it wasn't looking likely that she'd ever talk to him again. And that thought was making Seth feel more miserable than he'd ever imagined.

"I want to go home", Mac stated blandly looking at Leah seriously. "I'm not going to leave the rez or anything", she added as Leah shot her a dubious look.

"The pups will go with you, you shouldn't be alone right now", Leah said as she exited the room. "I'll be over later tonight and I'll answer any questions you have then".

"I don't need a fucking _baby_ sitter", she stated angrily, standing from the bed. "I'm nineteen not twelve".

Mac glared at the two boys as the followed her down the hall. "Stop following me", she growled walking faster as she attempted to escape from her body guards.

"You know that's not going to happen Mac", Ben stated, falling in line beside her and flashing her a sweet smile. "Orders are orders and there's no way in _hell_ I'm not doing what Leah tells me. You may be scary, but Leah is _terrifying_ and you can glare at me all you want but you're stuck with me... And Ollie... So get used to it Mac", he added smiling and throwing a warm arm around her shoulders.

"Fine... one condition..." She said with a resigned sigh.

"What?" Ben asked cautiously, as Ollie paused behind them shooting her a suspicious look.

"You have to carry me the whole way home, 'coz my feets hurt and I'm sleeeeeeeepy", she whined pouting at the boys for good measure.

Ben sighed turning around so Ollie could help her onto his back, "Fine... _But no biting_", he said narrowing his eyes at her as she gave him an innocent look.

"Jeez Ben, fun sponge much?" She said as she looked around happily from her new vantage point. "WOW! I can nearly see my house from up here!" She said excitedly, her worries temporarily forgotten as the three headed back towards her house.

Ollie shook his head in amusement as he watched the two, he was rather fond of the Betas imprint and the packs Omega wolf, even if he would never admit it to anyone.

"Sooo... You both turn into big angry wolf's too huh?" Mac asked after several moments of silence as she amused herself by pulling on Ben's ears.

Ollie just shrugged while Ben nodded. "We didn't ask for this Mac", he said sadly. "It's a genetic thing and Seth wanted to tell you, he just wasn't sure how".

Mac sighed, "That's not why I hate Seth, that's between me and him, so don't you worry your pretty little head Benny boy", she said patting him gently on top of his mop of messy, dark hair.

"So the tattoos are a werewolf thing?" Mac asked, glancing over at the tribal design on Ollie's arm that was etched into the skin of both her young companions.

"Yeah, everyone in the Pack has one", Ben said cheerily.

"We're not werewolf's" Ollie stated, stretching his arms above his head as he yawned. Mac couldn't help but notice the way his muscles flexed nicely as he did so, not as nicely as Seth's, but still very nicely. "We're shape shifters, completely different story".

"We don't need a full moon to phase or anything", Ben added. "And it's not contagious, I mean if we bite you, which we wouldn't-"

"-Seth might, but that'd be for a completely different reason", Ollie interrupted cheekily.

Ben grinned at his friend in agreement, "True that. But that's not what I meant", Ben said continuing despite Mac's face that was currently reddening in embarrassment. "I mean you wouldn't become a wolf, it's something you're born into".

"You've always been able to turn into oversized puppy dogs?" Mac asked, her arms flailing momentarily as Ollie gave her leg a playful tug, nearly toppling her from her perch on top of Bens shoulders.

"No", Ben answered, his hold on her ankles tightening to prevent her from falling to what would have been her almost certain doom. He was at least six feet tall and Mac was pretty sure a fall from this height would have meant a couple of broken bones for her. "Since we were 12, so three years now, the gene only becomes active if vampires are close enough to us, and since a vegetarian coven lives not too far away, a lot of us phased. I was all good until they had a like a vampire party one day and then I just got so angry, for no reason... My sister wouldn't let me have the TV controls... and then my dad dragged my ass outside because I was spazzing out and BAM I exploded into a giant wolf... Scary shit".

"What about you Ollie?" Mac asked, reaching over and patting his head gently, not noticing Ben stiffen under her at her question.

He shrugged dismissively, "I always get mad. Didn't really take much".

"Not everyone was so young", Ben said, changing the subject quickly. "Sam was first to phase and he was like nineteen, I can't imagine what it was like to be the first one... To be all alone like that", he added shivering involuntarily at the thought. Wolves were pack animals and being alone was not in their nature, the thought of being alone like that, the silence, it scared most of the pack more than they'd ever like to admit. Sam didn't like to talk about it, the time before Jarrod phased. There were no words to describe his relief at not being alone anymore, to not be the only one.

"So you're like real wolves, except bigger, and you chase vampires?" She asked curiously.

"Yeah pretty much", Ben replied.

"Who's the Alpha then?" She asked as she attempted to make little plaits in his hair.

"Jake", both boys replied at the same time.

"Huh, and then whose the Beta?"

"Seth", Ollie answered, noting the sad look that crossed her face at the mention of his name. "Leah's the third, Paul's fourth, then it's Embry, Sam, Jared, Quil, Collin, Brady, me, Ace, Cooper, and then dork face over there", he finished, ignoring the annoyed look Ben shot him at been called "dork face".

"Awwww don't worry Benny", Mac said patting his cheek fondly. "If you turn the order upside down you're Alpha".

He grinned at her attempt to make him feel better, the youngest wolf was actually quite content at his place in the pack. He just didn't appreciate being called a dork face. "Naaaw, way too much work Mac attack, I'm happy where I am", he said cheerily. "Ollie's the one bumping everyone left right and centre, Ace was not impressed at that little surprise", he smiled, chuckling at the memory.

"Grumpy wee Ollie", Mac said, shaking her head sadly.

"I'm not wee", he pointed out, "I'm taller than you short stuff".

Mac growled at him playfully "I am _not_ short", she said lowly.

"Take a chill pill shorty", Ollie teased as they turned up the street to her house.

Mac squealed as Ben dropped her backwards, failing to give her a warning, Ben laughed and even Ollie chuckled as she glared up at them both from her place in Ollie's arms, which had prevented her from falling onto the damp ground below.

"I got you", Ollie said before gently setting her back on the ground by her front door.

She continued to glare dangerously at them both as she unlocked the door to her house. She was going to make them sit outside but it was cold and Ben was giving her his best puppy dog eyes through the widow, so after a couple of minutes she gave up and let the two boys inside. Ollie immediately started going through her fridge, while Ben lay down on the couch, watching Mac carefully as he reclined back on her sofa.

Ollie gave Mac a pleading look as he held up her left over pizza, flicking her a small smile when she sighed and nodded, heading over to slump down in the seat beside Ben, who he gave one of the slices, he was feeling very generous today.

* * *

So maybe the Beta was sulking a little, but under these circumstances he was pretty sure he was allowed a few minutes to feel sorry for himself.

After Mac had left, Leah had had a go at him, demanding to know what he did to piss Mac off so much. Seth had informed her that if he'd known that he wouldn't be standing here, staring after as she walked away from him. It hurt, hearing her say she hated him, watching her leave him. It hurt and he wasn't sure what he had done to deserve such harsh words from her. He did plan on going over and asking her, but he knew her well and he was giving her some time to cool off before he tried to approach her again.

There was no way in hell he was leaving her alone, not after the talk they'd had with the two vampires today. There was a leech that was interested in Mac and that thought made Seth's blood boil with rage, his hands shaking every time he pictured the leech they'd chased the other day _anywhere_ _near_ his imprint. If that blood sucker ever showed his face around her Seth was going to make sure it was the last time. He would _end_ him.

After the pack meeting, which only consisted of Jake, himself, Leah and Paul, because Ollie and Ben were watching Mac for him and Jared and Sam were running patrols with Brady, Collin, Ace and Cooper. They'd decided make sure there were at least two wolfs were patrolling at all times, and three when the pups got out of school. In addition Mac was not to be left alone at any time, to make sure she stayed within the reservations border and to make sure that if the leech did manage to get past then she was well protected because, if he did get through their defences, he'd be gunning for Mac.

Seth wasn't planning on letting the leech get on the reservation border let alone close enough that he'd be able to see her.

After the meeting he made his way to Macs house, not bothering to attempt to talk to her, he sat behind her house in the forest, curled up in his wolf form listening to her banter with the two young wolfs that were currently cleaning out her fridge at a record rate.

He couldn't help but feel a little jealous as he listened to them tease his imprint, and how happy they made her feel, they made her laugh a lot. He liked her laugh, it made him smile.

After four days of the same treatment and being completely ignored by his imprint Seth had had enough. Four days without his imprint was more than enough for his liking and if she was still ignoring him by tomorrow then he was _making_ her listen. She _needed_ to listen, because he wasn't sure how long he could stand this. Worse still he didn't have any idea why she was so mad at him, why she hated him, but if he had to guess then he was going to say it was something to do with their make out session the other day, maybe it had been too soon. Maybe she didn't like him like that, but she had kissed him back and she had wanted him he could see it, he could _smell_ it.

There was only one way to find out for sure and for that she was going to have to be in the same room with him for more than three seconds.

* * *

Oscar didn't like these wolves and he was a lot more sceptical about the Betas connection to Mac than Annabeth was.

Mac wasn't the only one who Annabeth kept stuff from and he was getting pretty sick of this. He had made it clear to her multiple times a day that she was it for him, he didn't want anyone else, he didn't care how old she was or what she'd done. He would want her forever, regardless of the past. But still she refused him, each one of her rejections hurting more than he would ever admit to anyone. She was killing him here, couldn't she see that he loved her? Couldn't she see that this wasn't some little school boy crush as she had so nicely put it? That had set him off, not even she had been able to calm him down after that little comment. It'd taken him several hours, the destruction of four trees and a meal of three deer before he could even see straight again and another couple of hours before he was calm enough to go to her, where she was waiting for him, her eyes sad as she sat high up in one of the many huge trees that grew in the area.

He knew she was older than him, buy a lot, and that a creature as beautiful as her probably deserved someone better than him. He was young by everyone's standards, barely twenty five when he was turned and that was only fifteen years ago.

His human life was a blur to him, certain memories standing out of the haze. His sixteenth birthday party, which got more than a little out of hand, his first car, his father's funeral, his mother's meatloaf that she'd _always_ cook on Fridays, even if all they all hated it, because that had been his father's favourite, his sisters laugh as she punched him fondly in the arm and the day he died. That lovely memory was the clearest of them all, after all who could forget that?

The day he died Oscar had been having the time of his life, since his dad had died he'd made it his personal goal to live every day to the fullest and it was something he did well. Multitudes of beautiful women had shared his bed, even as a human Oscar had been particularly charming. He was good looking and he used it shamelessly to his advantage to get nearly any woman he desired, because to him that was living life to its fullest, and not all of them were what you'd call available either. Sometimes it was the thrill of having something that wasn't his to have and sometimes the unsatisfied, lonely house wives were absolute _animals_ in the bedroom.

Pretty women, fast cars and good food were a constant in Oscar's life in the last few years of his life. Not that he had a lot of money, far from it, but more often than not the women he liked to keep in his company did, and as long as he kept providing he unique services he offered them then they were more than happy to let him borrow their cars occasionally and keep him well fed with the finest food there unlimited money could buy. Well a lot of the time it was their husband's money, but Oscar chose to ignore that little detail. _He shouldn't have ignored it._

She had brilliant red hair. It was long, tumbling down her back in thick, shiny waves and it was the first thing he'd noticed about her. She was stunningly beautiful, but it was her smile that hooked him. The moment she smiled Oscar had known she was special. They'd talked for hours about nothing of real importance, their favourite movies, what flavour of ice-cream they liked and the weather. She loved rainy days, the pitter patter of the droplets on her roof was her favourite sound to fall to sleep to, funny, that was his favourite way to fall asleep too.

They would meet up when her husband was out of town and just listen to music, or watch movies together. She was so different to any other woman that he'd ever met. He wanted her to leave her husband and be his, would she run away with him? He asked her more than once; he wanted her to himself, the thought of that undeserving asshole with his hands on her silky soft skin, touching her how he wanted to touch her, loving her how only he wanted to love her, it made him angrier than he'd ever imagined he could be.

It took him exactly three and a half months to fall in love with her, although he thought that maybe he'd fallen in love with her the first time she'd smiled at him, and it'd just taken him this long to realise it.

She'd said today would be the last time she could see him, her husband, who was out of town, was moving across the country to be closer to his company, and he was taking her with him. Oscar had been so _damn angry_, so upset. She couldn't leave him, he _loved_ her, he knew he couldn't give her the life her husband had, but he'd be good to her, he'd provide for her, _he would try. Couldn't she leave with him instead?_

She'd been right about it being the last time she would see him. It would be the last time either of them would see anyone.

She'd smiled softly at him, the smile that he loved so much it _hurt, _and wrapped her arms around his neck, shaking her head sadly as her full lips brushed over his, the kiss gentle but somehow so full of need at the same time. She'd had tears in her beautiful hazel eyes as she told him, like she'd told him so many times before now, that he knew that wouldn't work. He wouldn't let her leave, at least not alive any way. Her husband was a dangerous man. Dangerous and powerful, and there was no way he would let another man take what was his. He would hunt Oscar down and there was _no_ _way_ she would let that happen, she loved him too much for that.

That would be the first and only time that she admitted her true feelings to Oscar. His lips had been hungry on hers, her nails racking down the skin on his bare back and making him harden with need for her. Her skin was so soft and he loved how she felt against him as he showed her exactly how much he loved her. Her hair was a beautiful mess around her as she lay beneath him, her eyes burning with passion as he buried himself within her. She cried out in pleasure as entered her, her fingers weaving into his short silky hair and pulling his mouth back to hers. There love making was sweet and passionate, tinged with desperation and it didn't take him long until he had her mewling in pleasure and squirming as she released beneath him. He followed her not long after, her sweet release triggering his own. He collapsed on top of her, burying her face in her hair and enjoying the smell of her shampoo as they both attempted to regain their breath.

It was about now that her husband arrived home. Apparently he'd grown bored of the hookers and alcohol his latest "conference" had to offer and had caught an earlier flight. He hadn't suspected a thing, he didn't think she had it in her to actually cheat on him, she was a weak woman. He had only married her because her father was an important business partner and it was good for is company. He'd never loved her, to him she was nothing more than a quick fuck and a business opportunity. But she was his and he was a man filled of pride, she had shamed him, sneaking around with this... _boy_... behind his back, just because he was unfaithful didn't mean that she was allowed to do the same. He was a very dangerous man at the best of times but when he was angry, he was unstoppable.

The two lovers were about to learn exactly how dangerous he could be.

Oscar hadn't even seen him coming, he'd resumed his position above his lover and was placing soft, careful kisses down her neck, loving the way she giggled if her kissed her in just the right place. The only indication he had that anything was wrong was when her body stiffened beneath him, her eyes widening in horror seconds before he felt the bursting pain in the back of his and then everything was black.

He can't have been unconscious long, but it was long enough for the man on the other side of the room to beat the woman he loved beyond recognition, her beautiful pale skin already covered in purple and black bruises from where he had struck her.

For several seconds he couldn't move, couldn't comprehend what was happening. But the blood curdling scream that escaped her bloodied lips snapped him out of his stupor, his body burning with rage as he stood and charged the man, the man who'd just hit the most beautiful creature he'd ever seen brutally across the face, sending her reeling across the cold wood floor and into the antique draws on the other side of the room with a crash.

The man grunted as they crashed into the wall, Oscar managing deal him several hard blows to the face before the man's fist connected with his gut, causing him to double over in pain. The man grabbed the lamp from the bedside table, lifting it behind him before bringing it forward and smashing it straight into Oscars face.

He heard her scream in horror. He saw her stand up off the ground, her hands shaking as she ran towards the man standing over Oscar, he wanted to tell her to run away, to save herself, he wanted to tell her that he loved her, but he couldn't. He couldn't move, his body wasn't working properly, his head hurt and he could taste the blood in his mouth as it poured from the multiple gashes that covered his face caused by the force of the ceramic lamp hitting him. It was smashed around him and he could feel it cutting into him as he squirmed, trying desperately to save himself and the woman he loved so much.

Too bad they never stood a chance.

She launched herself at her husband, wrapping her legs around his waist as she clung to his back, her fingers scratching at his eyes and causing him to holler in pain. She should have ran, she could have saved herself, but no matter what her husband thought about her she showed him that she was not weak. She was a lot of things, but _she_ _was not_ weak. She fought well but he was much stronger than her and it didn't take long until she was lying on the ground, her naked body covered in cuts and scratches. And as he watched the man storm across the room and pick up a heavy metal vase from on the draw beside the bed Oscar realised that he wasn't going stop. He realised they were going to die, and as the man approached them he used his last bit of strength to roll onto his side so he could see the face of the woman he loved one more time.

As she lay beside him bloodied, bruised and broken her small hand somehow found his own, her fingers lacing through his as she gave him her best smile, despite the tears streaming down her face, despite the blood that was pooling around their broken bodies, and despite the man that was standing over them, his face contorted in rage, she still managed to give him that smile. It was only seconds later that her husband brought the heavy metal vase down on the side of her head with a wet thud. He wanted to scream, he wanted to vomit, he wanted to tear the monster above him to pieces, limb from repulsive limb, but all he could do was lay there in horror and watch as the monster murdered the woman he had loved. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to will the image of her glassy eyes and her matted, bloodied hair out of his mind. He wanted this nightmare to end and he knew it wouldn't be long now, _oh how wrong he was_.

The man turned to him, the vase raised above him, a sardonic gleam in his eye as he let the heavy object slam into his head and as Oscar drifted off, he couldn't help but be happy that he was dying, that the pain was over.

That was about when the _real_ pain started, he felt like he was burning. He writhed in agony, barely noticing the calm, sad voice attempting to comfort him. He had no idea how long he burned; he would learn later it was three days, but at the time it felt like so much longer. He could feel himself changing, becoming something else. And by the third day he was more aware of his surroundings than he had ever been. He could smell _everything_, the grass outside, the smoke in there air and sweet scent of the woman who stayed by his side the whole time he changed. He could hear _everything, _birds outside as the sung happily; the beating of their hearts, the sound of material delicately rubbing against smooth skin and the bell like voice of the woman, telling him it would be over soon. He was almost there and that she was sorry, _so sorry_ she shouldn't have put him through this. He tended to agree and as soon as this stopped he planned on giving her an ear full.

The moment he opened his eyes he knew he wasn't back in the bedroom any more, the room he was in was sparsely furnished, his cuts were gone and someone had dressed him. If he had to guess who he was going to have to say it was the angelic woman with long blonde hair standing cautiously not far away. He was trying to decide whether to run, or to kill her, when she smiled.

It was a hauntingly familiar smile, one which reminded so much of the love he had lost forever. It was that smile that had kept him glued to the spot, all thoughts of fleeing and death gone from his mind.

And so his life as an immortal began.

It may have been the familiar smile that had stopped him from leaving for a start, but as time passed it was the kindness of the amazing woman who'd saved him, and had tried in vain to save his flame headed lover, that had kept him around. This time it took a lot longer for Oscar to fall, and when she'd refused him, he'd still stuck around; he figured he had all the time in the world to make her see that she loved him too.

He thought of her often, the woman who he'd loved, and sometimes he felt guilty. Guilty that Annabeth had managed to save him but not her, guilty that she died trying to save him, guilty that he was in love with someone else where as she would never get to love again. Then he'd remember her smile and her passion and he _knew_ that she would want him to be happy, to love again. He knew that she would want this for him. So he'd pray to whoever was listening to take care of her, to watch over her wherever she may be and keep her happy and then he'd take a deep breath and push the guilty thoughts to the back of his mind.

This time Oscar was determined to get his happy ending.

Oscar didn't know _what_ Annabeth wasn't telling him but his instincts were telling him that there was more to this story than she'd let on. He'd known her four fifteen years and he knew there was more between her and Deimos than she was making out. Why else would she have hunted him for so long?

With an irritated sigh Oscar continued his lap around the reservations borders, making sure to stay far enough away that the pack would remain oblivious to his presence, as much as he liked to tease them, right now they were protecting something very important to him, and he supposed that he really shouldn't start a fight with them at the moment.

Maybe after they'd caught Deimos Annabeth would let him have a little fun?

* * *

_Thanks so much for reading =D. Reviews are awesome..._


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 9**

_Thank you so much to the people reading my story, and an even bigger thank you to my reviewer's __hgmsnoopy, shelbron, fallunder, and JellyBeane =D. I hope everyone likes the chapter, it's ... nicer than the last one =)_

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* * *

_

Mac was moping, again. It had become a very familiar occurrence over the last four days but there really wasn't much else for her to do. Usually she would have just wondered over to the Clearwater's house and blobbed on the couch, where, if Sue was home, she would have fed her up on chocolate chip cookies and muffins until Leah or Seth arrived to further entertain her. But that wasn't possible now because she didn't want to risk bumping into Seth and having to make some lame excuses for having to leave, even though they both knew it was because he was here.

The hurt looks he'd been giving her were starting to make her feel a little mean, she really didn't see why he cared though, _he_ was the one who left _her_. If he had cared then he wouldn't have done it. She thought next time he should think things through before he did them, he wouldn't have to worry about all this regret.

"I brought you some skittles", a gruff voice said as the front door slammed shut, causing Mac to leap about three feet in the air and curse loudly.

"Holy shit Ollie", she growled, her hand resting over her chest where her heart was slamming against her rib cage. "You scared the shit outta me!"

He gave her an amused look before wondering over to her, pulling her down with him as he slumped onto the couch. "What's on TV?" He asked, handing her the bag of skittles and stealing the controls out of her hand, normally she would have protested but she was easily distracted by the colourful pieces of candy that were contained in the plastic bag. Now all she had to do was get the stupid thing open, which was easier said done.

"Nothing much", she stated as she struggled with her bag of sweets, flashing Ollie an easy smile when he leant over and opened the bag for her, reaching in and stealing himself a handful of candy, she let that slide because he had brought them for her after all. "How was school, fun I bet?" She asked as she started sorting the candy into little coloured coded piles.

"Oh yeah, _tonnes_ of fun", he replied sarcastically, raising his eyebrow at her questioningly as she carefully swept all the green skittles into a container. A container that was already half full with green skittles.

Mac blushed and shrugged her shoulders at his look; resealing the container and placing it carefully back on the coffee table.

"Have you talked to Seth yet?" he asked her as he slowly flicked through the channels, finally settling on a nature documentary about bears.

Mac glared at him, shifting uncomfortably as she answered, "No, I told you I'm never talking to him again..."

Mac wasn't prepared for the angry growl that escaped his lips. She flinched as the TV remote exploded in his hand, little pieces of black plastic scattering across the floor.

"_You can't __**not**__ talk to him Mac",_ he growled, as he stood and took several steps away from the very shocked looking imprint. "I don't know what he did to piss you off so much, but the poor guy has been completely _miserable_ since you've been ignoring him. _**For fucks sake**__, he's been sleeping in the forest behind your house ever since because he's terrified you're going to try run away again_. He's _crazy_ about you Mac, so don't try and tell me he doesn't care what you think, what you do, because he does. He cares way too much, but that's just Seth, he _always_ cares too much. _**So stop fucking with him and give the poor guy a break**_", he finished angrily, his hands shaking slightly as he headed towards the door. "You should probably thank him for the skittles, he told me to give them to you", he yelled back as he slammed the door behind him.

Mac stared after him in shock, before returning her attention to her skittles. Leah had told Mac to stay away from anyone in the pack when they were angry, especially if they were shaking, and right now Ollie was pissed, his hands practically vibrating as he stormed off into the forest. Now she could see what everyone else was saying when they said he kid had anger problems.

So instead of going after him like she wanted to, she settled back further into the couch and started on the yellow pile. She thought over his angry words as she munched on her candy, Seth wasn't miserable... Was he? The few times she had seen him since he didn't look that bad, he was quieter than usual and he looked a little bit tired but that didn't mean he was miserable, because of her, did it?

Mac was sure Ollie was talking crap, trying to make her loose her resolve and talk to Seth again. Seth was certainly not crazy about her, Mac was sure about that. If he was crazy about her he wouldn't have left her like that... Would have he?

Ah crap, now she was confused. Maybe she was being a little harsh on Seth but he had yet to try talk to her, to try explaining himself to her and maybe if he did that she would think about forgiving him. Maybe, she wasn't sure. Was she fucking with Seth?

Her rambling thoughts were interrupted but a hesitant knock at the door, and Mac assumed that Ollie had calmed down enough to resume inhaling her candy and watching the bear documentary, but when she opened the door it was not Ollie who was standing on her front door step, but a very awkward, tired looking Seth Clearwater.

Mac thought about slamming the door in his face but the sad look in his usually happy eyes made her freeze where she was, unsure what to do or say.

"I need to talk to you Mac", Seth said, his eyes pleading with her to listen, to not shut the door on him. "Can I come in?" he asked carefully.

She nodded, steeping aside and allowing him access to her house, he gave her a surprised look and stepped hesitantly inside, closing the door behind him and following Mac back into the living room, where she started on the pile of orange candy as she waited for him to talk.

"Look, Mac, I'm sorry ok?" he said quietly, his eyes evaluating her carefully. "I knew I should have told you, I wanted to tell you, but I didn't know how..." he trailed off as her eyes met his for the first time in four days.

"That's not why you're mad at me though, is it?" He said as he watched her pop another piece of orange candy into her mouth. He shook his head in frustration, "Well what the hell did I do then? Because I've been trying to figure it out and I have no fucking idea what I did to piss you off so much. Was it because I kissed you?" He asked, his voice rising as some of the anger from the last four days began to escape. "Because I-".

"_It's not because you kissed me Seth",_ Mac interrupted angrily, her face flushing slightly as she remembered there heated kiss before she had tried to leave the rez. "It's not because you explode into an angry fucking wolf either. It's what happened _after_ you kissed me, you left. _**You left me standing there like an absolute idiot Seth and it**_ _**hurt**_. _If you were going to regret it that much then you shouldn't have done it in the first place_", she growled to a very shocked looking Seth, as she stood angrily from the couch.

"_You think I __**regret**__ kissing you?" _Seth growled. "_Fucking hell Mac, I __**do not**__ regret kissing you. You have no idea how much I do not regret kissing you_", he snarled, his eyes burning with anger.

Mac had never seen Seth this angry before, well apart from when he was growling at Oscar, but what worried her the most was that she could feel it. She could feel his anger burning in her gut, she didn't have to hear the tone of his voice, or see the look in his eye to know that he was furious because she could _feel it_. And to be honest it was freaking her out a little.

Seth's hands were shaking and as he felt Mac's fear seep through the imprint bond he realised he needed to calm the hell down. He did not come here to yell at his imprint, no matter how ridiculous her reason for not talking to him was. There was no way he was going to risk phasing in front of her, he had seen the result of that, had seen what it had done to Emily, and to Sam. If there was the slightest chance he would phase, he always made sure to get as far away from Mac as possible, and right now that meant getting his badly shaking ass into the forest.

"_I have to go_", he growled, as he stormed angrily out of the house. When he reached the forest he didn't phase, but instead took his anger out on several nearby trees, leaving multiple fist shaped chunks missing from there aged trunks.

Mac stared after Seth in shock, he may be gone but she could still feel his burning anger in the pit of her stomach, now mixed with a tinge of guilt and shame. Today was the day that Mac learnt that she absolutely _hated_ the feeling of Seth's shame. She still wasn't sure why she could feel Seth, she thought maybe she was going crazy.

She fidgeted nervously, thinking of going after him, but remembering Leah's warning, choosing instead to go get ready for bed. She threw on an over sized t-shirt and snuggled into her bed, glaring once at the pink walls as she turned the lights out. She tried not to think of Seth, outside in the freezing cold, all by himself... She hoped Ollie was making that bit up but she knew in her gut that it was right, that he wasn't far away. That thought made Mac frown a little, she knew the cold wouldn't affect him but she couldn't help but feel a little bad, and so with a sigh she pushed back the covers and picked up the container from beside the bed.

She opened her window as quietly as she could shivering as the cold night air touched her exposed skin. She could have used the door but the window seemed like more fun. She paused on the damp grass before the forest, closing her eyes as she felt for the subtle pull that was becoming stronger every day, it had taken her this long to realise what it was pulling her towards. It was pulling her towards Seth.

Mac clutched her container tighter to her chest as she walked into the eerie darkness of the trees, where the moonlight of this unusually calm night could not reach. She followed the pull in her stomach as it got stronger and stronger as she advanced deeper into the forest.

She almost dropped her container at the low whimper that came from her left, regaining her calm when a familiar giant sandy wolf appeared from the shadows, it's head lowered in an attempt to make himself look less threatening, he didn't want her to be scared of him.

He had nearly been asleep, lulled closer to dreams by her steady heart beat as she had lay in her bed. He had realised she was trying to leave as soon as he heard the noise of her bedroom window opening. Words couldn't describe the panic and hurt Seth felt at that moment. She was trying to leave him, she was trying to run away again, but he couldn't let her do that because off the reservation she was in even more danger. And Seth did not want his imprint in any danger at all.

He whimpered as he approached her, still in his wolf form, not thinking to phase back in his panic to stop her from leaving. He didn't want to frighten her but she needed to know that he wasn't going to let her go anywhere.

He wasn't prepared for the small smile she gave him, it was the first time he had seen that smile in days and it made his stomach flutter a little. She stepped closer to him, looking very unsure of herself.

"So Ollie was telling the truth, huh?" she asked him carefully. "Your stupid ass really did sleep outside my house. Have you been doing this every night since?"

He whined quietly, slightly embarrassed at being caught sleeping outside her house, and nodded his huge head once. He'd been caught red handed... Well red pawed, and he didn't see the point in lying to her. He was going to kill the pup later by the way.

"You're such a dork Seth", Mac sighed settling down on the damp ground near the base of the closest tree. "I'm not going anywhere", she added, noticing the careful way he was watching her. "I just came to tell you that you should go home, get some sleep".

He looked at the shorts that were tied around his leg with a dark rubber strap, and then off into the forest, attempting to communicate to her that he wanted to phase back. He retreated quickly back into the forest when she nodded hesitantly and it was only a matter of seconds and he was approaching her again, this time on two legs instead of four.

He made sure to walk as loudly as possible. Not wanting to startle her, which was very easily done, but it still took several seconds and a small cough before she turned her head to face him, her face an impassive mask as she took in his shirtless form.

"What are you doing out here Mac?" He asked her carefully, walking closer and plopping down on the cool earth of the forest floor a few feet away.

She shrugged dismissively, unsure of her answer. Why was she here? "Because I was bored", she said quietly.

He frowned a little at that, only now noticing how little she was wearing, the over sized t-shirt that was her pyjamas barely reaching mid thigh. "It's freezing out here Mac", he stated as his careful eyes noticed the goose bumps that covered her exposed skin. "You should be inside in bed, where it's warm", he added.

She rolled her eyes sarcastically, "thanks for the advice mom... So, wanna tell me why you've been sleeping outside my house, in this freezing cold, for four nights straight?" She asked him, looking far less interested by the answer than she actually was.

He blushed lightly, mumbling something about her needing extra protection.

She sighed, throwing a small pebble she'd been idly rolling around in her palm at his head, Seth, who was focusing on the ground in front of him didn't notice it coming and shot the innocent looking Mac a surprised look as it connected with his cheek. "I'm not going anywhere, ok Seth?" she said tenderly, her eyes soft as she evaluated him. "I promise I'm not going to run away again", she said, her hand over her heart.

"How do I know you aren't just saying that?" He asked her quietly, watching her cautiously.

"I'm not ok... Just believe me... If he's out there", she said nodding her head in the direction of the border, "then that is not a place where I want to be", she added with a shudder.

Seth growled lowly, not liking the fear that was obvious in Macs eyes as she looked off into the forest. He was going to ask her about _him_ when she interrupted.

"I'm sorry Seth", she said quietly, this time it was her turn to blush as she focused on the damp earth beneath them. "I'm sorry I was such a bitch, and ignored you for four days straight. I'm sorry I didn't listen to you and left the house when you told me not to. And I'm sorry I said I hated you... I don't, I'm actually quite partial to you", she added quietly.

She coughed uncomfortably as he stared at her, the intensity in his eyes making her shiver and shift awkwardly, a move that his sharp eyes didn't miss. "Sooooo... anyway", she started standing quickly and taking several steps away from the wolf in front of her, who's dark eyes were watching her every move _very_ carefully. "I just came out her to tell you to stop being a dork and get your ass home to bed... But since I know that isn't going to happen, you can come inside and sleep on the couch or something. That's gotta be better than sleeping out here right?" She asked him nervously, taking a step backwards as he stood slowly. "I mean only if you want to, you can stay out here and freeze your ass off for all I care... Oh... here" she said, advancing towards him and shoving the container he hadn't noticed into his hands before she blushed and flashed him a sweet smile, then turned on her heels and sprinted off into the darkness toward her house.

He walked quickly, making sure she didn't get too far ahead of him as she ran. He paused at her door, carefully opening the container she had handed him and he couldn't help the huge smile that engulfed his features as he looked at its contents. The whole container was full of green skittles, every green skittle from every packet she had consumed in the four days she had been ignoring him. He took a few from the container, popping them into his mouth as he entered her house, idly wondering if the amount of candy Mac had consumed in the last four days was at all healthy, if she had managed to collect this many green skittles then she must have eaten a hell of a lot of candy in the last several days.

He placed the container down on the kitchen counter and walked down the short hall toward her room, he hesitated outside of her door, knocking gently before he entered, she wasn't the only one who had stuff to apologise for.

A small smile graced his lips as he noticed the way she was wrapped up in her blanket, making her appear a lot smaller and more vulnerable than she was. More than she would like everyone to think she was.

He lent lazily against the wall by her door, taking a deep breath and inhaling the calming scent of his imprint before continuing. "I'm sorry to Mac", he stated, wearily running a hand through his short, messy hair, "I shouldn't have yelled at you, I was a dick, but I just couldn't believe you thought I _regretted_ kissing you, that that's why you weren't talking to me. I thought you weren't talking to me because _you_ _regretted_ _kissing_ _me_... Do you?" He asked her, sounding as vulnerable as she looked.

Mac blushed slightly, her teeth teasing her bottom lip gently, before she shook her head softly. "Then why'd you leave so fast? I thought you'd realised what a mistake you'd made, you know... Kissing your sisters severely fucked up best friend... I thought you'd realised how much better you could do..." She trailed off quietly, her eyes focused on the spot beneath Seth's feet.

"_Are you kidding me Mac?_" He asked her softly, closing the gap between them and kneeling in front of her, his hand gently cupping her chin and making her dark brown eyes meet his own. "I left because Jake needed me, the pack _needed_ me, a leech had crossed the border again and we needed to stop it. I didn't want to leave... I _really_ didn't want to leave, but I had a job to do. I had to keep the rez safe, keep you and my Mom safe. _And you're not fucked up Mac_", he growled softly. "A little odd sure, but _not_ fucked up. You really have to stop putting yourself down like that, I hate it. You're not perfect, you're stubborn as hell and the curse words you use would make a pirate blush, but I don't care... I like you Mac, sever candy addiction or not".

"I told you I was partial to you right?" She asked her voice shaky as she tried to hold back the tears that were threatening to flow.

"Yeah... Yeah you did honey", he said softly, his thumb stroking gently over the skin of her jaw. "I'm quite partial to you too, you know..." he added quietly, smiling at her softly.

She smiled sadly, before she shocked him, moving quickly and wrapping her arms around his neck, burying her face in his chest. Seth made a soft calming noise in his throat, pulling Mac into his arms and cradling her against his chest. "Don't worry honey, its ok..." he said, his hand rubbing small circles on her back as he pressed his lips to her fore head. She couldn't explain how much better she felt now she was talking to him, touching him, the nagging sense of guilt and the dull, empty, ache she had felt in her gut all week vanishing as he held her carefully in his arms.

She didn't respond, simply burying her face into the crook of his neck and breathing deeply as she tried to calm herself. It smelled of Seth, forest and sweat, and his scent, along with the rumbling of his voice as he whispered to her, had her breathing slowing and her eyes drifting shut as she yawned hugely.

"You need to sleep Mac", he told her, lifting her easily and placing her back in her bed as she yawned loudly.

"_ButIlmnottiredSeth", _she mumbled, her words blurring together as he pulled the covers around her.

He chuckled lightly, placing a soft kiss on her forehead as he slowly walked towards the door, planning on spending the night on her couch like she had suggested.

"Where are you going?" she asked tiredly rubbing her eyes sleepily as she sat up in her bed.

He could feel her panic as she watched him walk toward the door, "to sleep on the couch", he said, chuckling softly.

She blushed, her fingers fidgeting with the edge of her duvet cover, "Can you stay with me please?" She asked softly, and he couldn't help but smile at how cute she looked.

"You sure you want me to stay, Mac?" He asked her gently, taking a slow step back towards her. Seth would much rather sleep in her bed with his imprint; he'd only been fantasizing about holding her to his chest while she slept since he'd first seen her... Ok, so Seth was sure that sounded more creepy than it actually was, but being this close to his imprint, being able to smell her intoxicating scent and touch her soft skin as he held her in his arms, well, that was much better than being out there, where he couldn't even see her.

She nodded gently, smiling softly at him as he walked back towards her and settled beside her on the bed, which was a double and thankfully long enough that his feet didn't stick out the end. "Now go to sleep Mac", he ordered her softly as his hand found hers, she smiled at him nodding and lacing their fingers together, causing him to smile in return.

She shifted closer to him, shivering lightly as he rumbled his approval deep in his chest, snagging a warm arm around her waist and pulling her so her back was flush against his bare chest. H loved how she felt wrapped up in his arms, it felt right "Sleep", he whispered, kissing the soft skin of her cheek gently as she tightened her grip on his hand, which was still firmly in her own and resting against her stomach.

She yawned loudly and it wasn't long until his exhausted imprint drifted into a deep sleep. Seth was tired too, but he didn't follow her into sleep right away, instead, he lay awake listening to her breathing and her occasional mumbling about red skittles, and Leah stealing her chocolate muffins, _his girl even cursed in her sleep_.

For the first time in a long time, when the little clock beside Macs bed struck two, her room stayed silent. There was no screaming, no crying and no smashing of dinnerware, just Mac mumbling for for Leah to "drop her mother fucking muffin" as she rolled over, resting her head on the chest of a softly smiling Seth, who after seeing that his imprint was ok and wasn't going to jump out of bed screaming, allowed himself to sink into the best sleep he had had in weeks.

* * *

Annabeth sighed heavily as she flew silently around the border, searching for any signs of Deimos's imminent return. She knew that there would be trouble when he did, he'd already crossed the border once, gathering information and evaluating his opponents, next time he would be more prepared, he would have a plan. Annabeth knew that although Deimos without a plan was trouble, Deimos with a plan was so much worse.

She stopped her run in a clearing, it was time for a break, unlike the wolves these patrols weren't a constant for the two vampires. There were only two of them and if anything did happen then the wolves howling would alert them. These trips were more for her piece of mind, she liked to check the area for any fresh scents the wolves may have missed, they were awfully young after all.

Oscar, although he moaned and grumbled about it constantly, also took regular trips around the border, although right now he was lying lazily in the grass of the clearing, no doubt waiting for her to finish her round.

"Same old, same old?" he asked turning his head to face her as he chewed lazily in a piece of long grass. Well, he pretended to chew it, the flimsy piece of grass wouldn't last long faced with his impossibly sharp vampire teeth.

She nodded tiredly as she approached him, settling cross legged in the grass next to her companion.

"Have you hunted since the other day?" he questioned her, noticing the dark colour of her usually butter light eyes.

She gave him a pretentious look, "of course I have", she said shortly, "I'm not an idiot, Oscar".

He raised his eyebrows at her before flashing her a cheeky grin, "bullshit".

She gave him an irritated look for his language, he _knew_ she hated it when people swore. "It's not bull-... _I did to_", she hissed quietly.

He grinned easily, ignoring her dangerous glare, "did not".

"_Did to_", she hissed narrowing her eyes dangerously at him.

"Did noooot", he sung, rolling quickly to the side to avoid her right hook.

"Oscar, I _did_ to", she growled, standing and stomping her foot angrily, only causing the smile on the dark headed man's face to widen, he thought she looked adorable when she was angry.

"Liar liar, pants on fire", he sung, making sure to stay out of her reach as he danced around the clearing. "You did not, your eyes are as black as coal Annabeth. Yourrr lyyyyyyinngg to me".

Her dark look faltered, "I was busy, ok", she admitted grouchily, "I didn't have time".

His cheerful look faded quickly, a frown replacing it. "I knew it", he said angrily, "You need to take better care of yourself, I don't care if you're busy, eat, rest, then work", he said lowly, beside her in the blink of an eye and taking her hand firmly in his.

Usually she would have fought him, objected the contact with him, but she was thirsty, she was tired and she _was_ rather fond of him, even if he was the most annoying being on this planet a lot of the time.

After they had feed, Annabeth finishing off several deer by herself, only then realising her thirst, grudgingly admitted that Oscar was right.

They sat high up in one of the many trees in the area, Annabeth nervously holding her cell phone in her hand as she stared at the screen.

"Call her", Oscar said quietly, bumping his shoulder gently into hers and breaking the silence between them, "she doesn't hate you", he added softly, his hand trailing delicately down her arm. "She's mad, sure, but Mac's _always_ mad. She'll be happy to hear from you, even if she doesn't show it".

"She must think I am a monster", she whispered sadly, "Are you sure she would want to talk to me?"

"I'm sure Annabeth", he said, giving her a comforting smile as he covered her hands with his own, pressing her thumb down on the call button with his larger one.

She gave him a panicked look as the ring tone started, "She loves you Anna, she won't stay mad at her forever, and whether she likes it or not, she's stuck with us", he reassured her, smiling as she slowly raised the phone to her ear.

"Hello", Mac answered shortly, the tone in her voice making Annabeth wince and Oscar smile fondly.

"Hello McKenna", Annabeth said quietly, sounding more scared than Oscar had ever heard her. "... How are you?" She asked after a short silence.

"I'm ok, I guess, ya know all things considered", she answered drolly.

Annabeth sighed sadly, "I didn't know how to tell you sweet heart... I didn't know how you'd react..." She trailed of weakly.

"You know, that seems to be a very common excuse round here", Mac said sarcastically, as Annabeth noticed the breathing and steady heart beat of someone else enter the room with Mac.

"Do you hate me?" she asked softly, watching as Oscar played gently with the fingers of her spare hand.

She could hear Mac sigh heavily before she answered grudgingly, "no... I get why you didn't tell me Annabeth, I probably would have freaked the fuck out".

Annabeth smiled softly, squeezing Oscars hand in her own as she looked at him, as he mouthed "I told you so" at her.

"I want to talk to you, in person", Mac said carefully, sighing at the guttural growl coming from her companion.

"You are with the Beta?" Annabeth questioned.

"The Beta?... _Oh Seth" _Mac said, the smile evident in her voice, "yeah, he's helping me finish my skittles", she told her happily.

"Tell the Beta to arrange our meeting with the La Push Alpha, and call me when you are done, ok McKenna", she asked, thinking that if the Beta's growling was anything to go by then Mac was going to have a hard time getting the pack to consent to her meeting with them.

"Tell Oscar he's a dork", she chirped happily. "I'll see you then".

"It's a date", Oscar called into the phone, smiling at the combined noise of Macs laughter and the Betas growling, teasing him was just too much fun.

"Was that really necessary?" Annabeth asked, her tone amused and her eyebrow raised.

"It really was", he sighed happily, noticing that Annabeth was still idly twisting his fingers between her own.

"You are unbelievable", she stated, shaking her head slowly.

He grinned at her, wiggling his eyebrows at her seductively, "well thank you", he told her happily, loving the way her lips curved up in the softest smile at his comment.

"That wasn't meant as a complement Oscar", she said, trying to hide the amusement in her voice.

"Annabeth you hurt me", he said, his free hand over his heart, his face plastered in fake hurt. That expression was completely wiped from his face and replaced with a gentle smile as a small giggle escape her lips. It was a rare occurrence, hearing the bell like noise of her laughter, and Oscar had made it his goal to hear that beautiful noise escape her perfect lips at least once a day over the last fifteen years. It wasn't something that he could always achieve, and it was his personal opinion that she was far to serious and need to lighten up occasionally.

"Nawwww, I'm sorry Oscar", she pouted, patting his cheek gently. "I didn't realise you were so sensitive".

He growled at her lightly, pulling her hand to his lips and kissing her soft skin gently, "There's a lot of things you don't know about me", he said tenderly.

Oscar smiled at her before pretend yawning tiredly, "I think you need a sleep Annabeth".

She gave him a blank look, "I'm a vampire Oscar, like you, we _don't_ sleep".

He sighed happily, his eyes closed and his feet kicked up on a fallen branch lazily, "sometimes it's good to rest Annabeth, pretending to sleep is very relaxing", he told her sagely, "and it's good practice for if you need to pretend sleep for real..."

She sighed in defeat, allowing him to pull her closer to his side so she was able to rest her head on his firm chest. "You really are an idiot, Oscar", she told him, closing her eyes as he absently twirled a piece of her golden hair around his finger. She knew she shouldn't be doing this, she should be running another lap of the reservation but Oscar wouldn't be happy until she sat still for more than an hour.

She gave a fake yawn as she snuggled into his side, causing him to smile hugely, "Atta' girl".

And so the two vampires spent the next hour and six minutes reclining in the damp grass. It was the best hour and six minutes of Oscars week, and if it was the best hour and six minutes Annabeths week too she didn't say, but he knew she enjoyed it, even if she didn't say anything, because although she was good at hiding things from him, he had become _very_ good at finding them out over the last fifteen years. He liked to think of it as a special talent.

Oscar smiled gently as he followed Annabeth around the reservation, deciding that her being faster than him definitely had its benefits. He grinned as she turned around slanting him an evil look. She could feel his eyes on her and maybe she added a little extra sway to her hips as she ran, maybe she didn't, either way Oscar enjoyed the rest of his patrol immensely.

Today had been a _very_ good day.

* * *

If you had asked him a week ago to describe the worst pain imaginable then he wouldn't have thought anything could be this painful. To him this much pain would have simply been incomprehensible, but now it was his reality.

He was burning, but he wasn't on fire. This fire was inside him, spreading slowly through his body and consuming everything, getting more and more intense by the minute. He had begged for death more times than he could count, but still he burned.

Why would they not kill him? he'd begged him to kill him, to please kill him.

He knew he wasn't alone, there were others, talking in muffled voices as he screamed, he couldn't focus on what they were saying. He couldn't focus on anything but the pain. All he knew was that there were others here and they wouldn't help him. Would somebody _please_ kill him?

They didn't listen, they never listened. And so he continued to burn.

As Deimos watched the young man scream he hoped this one would last longer than the last newborn he had created.

He was careful when selecting humans to join his new coven; after all he a weak human became a weak vampire more often than not. And for what he wanted them to do a weak vampire just wouldn't be good enough.

The woman beside him seemed to be enjoying watching the new member burn nearly as much as he was and if wasn't for the fact that she was annoying as hell, then he may have actually liked her. She had been with him a week and once appetite had been satisfied she had shown a little too much interest in him, he found her advances immature and irritating. She didn't seem to get his very unsubtle hints about him being not at all interested in her, if she didn't pay attention soon he was going to have to get rid of her. That was a shame; he really hated it when people wasted his time.

He knew it wouldn't be long now until the man stopped screaming, the pain over as the change was completed, and he knew he would be hungry when he awoke. But he was a very smart vampire and had done this many times before, when it came to planning these sorts of things he was nothing but meticulous and so he already had several humans, unconscious and bound, in the basement beneath the room they were now in. There would have been more but the female had poor self control and he'd had to go fetch a whole other batch of snacks after she'd been through with them. He couldn't help the feeling of pride as he had watched his creation mercilessly devour all three of the humans. What he liked most about her was the way she liked to play with her food, drawing out their deaths until they begged for her to kill them.

She was _almost_ as cruel and twisted as him and that was saying something.

He sat back in his chair happily as he continued to wait, his plan was coming along very nicely. Those wolves wouldn't know what had hit them once he was through.

* * *

_Thank you for reading =D_


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 10**

_I'm pretty bloody proud of the length of this chapter, for me it's kind of amazing. I hope I didn't waffle too much, I have a tendency to do that... So I hope you guys enjoy it._

_Thank you to my reviewers __fallunder, hgmsnoopy, kieraa, QahlanKwaiya, laurazuleta18, and The all mighty and powerfulM ... =D_

* * *

As the young Beta ran through the forest, his paws thudding rhythmically against the cool earth, he really wished he was still in bed right now, but unfortunately for him, and every other member of the pack, every week at seven thirty they met in a sheltered clearing for a full pack meeting. As he did every Saturday, Seth Clearwater made it on time by the skin of his teeth.

Jake gave him an unimpressed look as he burst into the clearing, still buttoning the front of his denim cut offs, he flashed his Alpha an easy grin and slumped down against a tree beside a very amused looking Embry.

"Every week man, you should try getting up five minutes earlier", he told him with a smile.

Seth shrugged dismissively, yawning as he rested his head on his hands. "You're lucky I'm here at all, I was having a particularly enjoyable dream about chocolate cake and well... Chocolate cake", he told the smiling Embry cheerily.

"Was Mac feeding you this chocolate cake?" Ben asked cheekily, from his position beside the bored looking Ollie.

"Were you eating the cake off Mac?" Collin asked, snickering at the embarrassed look that crossed Seth's face, which got even redder as the rest of the pack burst out laughing.

Jake cleared his throat noisily, shaking his head in amusement and giving the disgruntled Seth a sympathetic look. "Jared's right Seth, that was cutting it fine, even for you. Next week I want you to be first here", he told Seth seriously.

Seth made a horrified noise in his throat, being here first meant being here before Ollie. And that meant being here at the crack of dawn, an hour before everyone else arrived. Not many of the pack realised this, but Leah had noticed Ollie sitting quietly in the clearing on her patrol early one morning, not long after he had first phased, he had been there an hour before every pack meeting since since. They knew why, Ollie chose to spend as little time as possible in his house, usually by that time of the morning his dad was passed out on the couch, having consumed enough beer to last an average man a week, and after cleaning him up and dumping him in his bed the kid was out of there. You really didn't want to be around when he woke up; his father wasn't really a morning person.

Brady, who was crouched in his wolf form near the base of a tree, growled lightly when Collin decided to use him as a fury chair, leaning back on him and kicking his feet up on a nearby log. They all took turns at this job, being the link between those at the meeting and Leah and Jared, who had the Friday night patrol which finished after the pack meeting, at eight. This meant everyone could see what was happening at the meeting and that the border was being patrolled at all times.

Leah was flying around the far side of the reservation and she really wasn't enjoying the current topic of conversation, Mac was her best friend and she had absolutely no desire to know what her teenage brother had been dreaming about, not after the last dream she had heard about, she hadn't been able to look at either of them without blushing for a week. There were just some things you shouldn't have to see your best friend doing, especially when she was doing these things to your brother, dreamt up or not that shit could scare a girl for life.

Jared was laughing, mentally, at the horrified thoughts running through Leah's mind, but his mental hysterics were interrupted when the she wolf nipped the end of his tail with her sharp teeth, causing him to yelp loudly. She speed past him with a swish of her tail and flashed a wolfish grin at her grumbling pack mate. Serves him right for laughing at her pain, this was no laughing matter.

Back in the clearing Ben smiled happily as he stretched out on the damp grass beside his best friend who was listening to his Alpha talk with more enthusiasm than usual. That was probably because they were talking about him. After another meeting with the elders it had been decided that Ollie had calmed down enough to return to school, a prospect he had been looking forward to for two months.

Ollie loved school. He loved throwing himself into something that would take his mind of his life, which left a lot to be desired for the teenage wolf. Ben, being the good friend he was, had been taking notes for his older friend who was "sick" and had been bringing him home the home work for him to complete. When he had first phased it had taken Ollie over three months to calm down enough to be allowed back into school with the rest of La Push reservations teens and until a few months ago he had been able to control his anger enough that he had been fine around humans, and even if he did lose it there was always someone in his class able to either calm him down, or drag his ass outside, whether it be Ace, Cooper or Ben.

The four youngest pack members were the same age and so shared most of their classes with each other. For a start they were also very close in their levels of dominance, with Ben always being the least dominate and Ollie just above him. But recently that had changed. Jake wasn't sure why, but for some reason the pup had been becoming increasingly dominate in the last few months, and with this knew found dominance he became aggressive and harder to control. This meant it was nearly impossible for his peers to calm him down any more and he was stronger than before, it took at least two of them to drag him anywhere now. His already short fuse became even shorter and with Ben being the only one in his classes he was even willing to listen to, he had been too dangerous to leave in school until he learnt to control his anger issues.

"So I can go back to school?" Ollie asked the Alpha gruffly, the look in his eyes betraying his excitement.

"_**IF**_you control yourself kiddo", Jake told him seriously, but smiling gently at the Ollie's attempts to hid his enthusiasm. "We can't have you there if there's a chance you'll phase. We've made sure you've got as many classes as possible with the others, and in math, because you're in the advanced group, you'll be with Brady and Collin, Seth will be keeping an eye on you as well, so everything should be fine. But as soon as you feel like you're losing control, as soon as you feel yourself getting angry, you need to get your ass outta there. Understand Ollie?" He asked, shooting the pup a stern look.

Ollie just nodded, giving Ben a small smile as the youngest pup wiggled his eye brows excitedly at him.

"Also, even though there haven't been any signs of any vampires around here since a couple of weeks ago, I still want whoever's on patrol to be extra vigilant. Those vampire friends of Mac's seemed sure something was going to go down, and we don't want to risk another leech getting onto the rez", the Alpha said seriously, trying to ignore the twins as they pestered Quil, Quil who was trying his hardest to listen to their Alpha, he really wished they would do the same instead of hitting him in the back of the head with small stones, sticks and... was that a _bug_?

That Alpha may have been able to politely ignore Cooper and Ace's sniggering but Quil's girlish scream caused him to stop his speech with a sigh, shooting the two boys an unimpressed look. They would have taken more notice, but at the moment they were trying very hard to stay out of way of the severely pissed off Quil, who was chasing them around the clearing very vocally displaying his displeasure. Cooper, always the thinker, had scrambled up a nearby tree and was watching Quil chase his younger brother around the clearing between his hysterical pack mates, with an amused smile on his face. He was six minutes older than his twin, and he was sure the six minutes he had on his twin had made him infinitely wiser than his currently... preoccupied brother.

The young wolves were born within minutes of each other and had phased within minutes of each other. Cooper liked to consider himself the smarter twin but Ace would argue that sneaky was a better description of his slightly older and more dominate brother. The two were always getting in trouble, annoying Quil being their absolutely favourite thing to do, the only difference between them was Cooper was better at getting out of it, leaving his twin to fend for himself in situations not unlike the one unfolding beneath his feet. It was Ace who had thrown the bug after all, and everyone knew how much Quil _hated_ bugs. The pack found infinite amusement in the fact that he was a vampire destroying shape shifter, who was scared of bugs. Cooper liked to think his twin rather deserved to have his face rubbed into the dirt by the furious Quil, maybe he would learn something from this experience.

It took three minutes and a lot of pulling by the very amused looking Embry and Paul to separate Quil's hands from around the younger pups' neck, but by then, he had already sustained a fat lip and had been forced to eat at least two mouthfuls of dirt. He shot his twin, who was still sitting far above him in the safety of a tree, a dark look before grumbling an apology to the murderous looking Quil and slouching down against the tree.

Cooper, seeing the deathly glares coming from Quil and Ace decided on remaining in the tree for the rest of the pack meeting.

Jake sighed before continuing, "_as I was saying_, we don't want to risk another leech breaking the border, _especially_ if their targeting one of the imprints", he growled lowly, a sentiment that was echoed by the rest of the pack. Any leech that wanted one of their imprints had a fight on their hands.

* * *

Seth, Ollie and Ben relieved Leah and Jared from patrol after the pack meeting, when just to be annoying because you know as Seth's big sister it was her job, Leah went over her plans for the day, most of which involved Mac or sleeping, two of Seth's favourite things. Leah was particularly looking forward to the horror movie marathon the two had planned later in the day, after Leah had caught up on some much needed sleep.

Seth decided that his sister was very cruel to do this to him, she knew how much it bothered him that he barely got to spend any time with his imprint, to him, it felt like that between school and Pack business he hardly got to see her at all.

Leah thought that Mac's drama queen ways were starting to rub off on her little brother. Mac came over every day for dinner because none of the Clearwater's trusted her to feed herself. Seth saw his imprint at least once a day, Leah didn't see what he was moaning about, that was a lot more than Quil got to see Claire, who lived up on the Makah reservation, he only got to see her when she came down to visit Emily and Sam on weekends.

Seth chose to ignore the mental sniggering of the two pups, who were running not far in front of him, when Leah called him a drama queen.

Leah also made sure to think extra loud about the chocolate cake Sue had promised to bake for them last night. She would be making sure there was none of that left by the time Seth finished his double patrol at four this afternoon.

Seth growled sadly as she phased out when she reached the last of the trees near their backyard. She _knew_ that his mom's chocolate cake was his favourite. She was so _evil_.

For Seth this Saturday's patrol went unusually slow. There were no signs of any vampires near the border, not even of the vegetarian pair that Seth was sure weren't far away.

Although he tried very hard to hide them, Ollie's thoughts about his being allowed to return to school occasionally passed into Seth's mind and when they did he couldn't help the wolfish smile that made its way onto his face. Most of the pack that still attended school, himself included, couldn't wait to get out of the place. It was too noisy for their sensitive ears, it was cramped, everyone thought they were in some weird cult that did drugs in the forest, and where a lot of the female population adored them the male population despised them, taking every opportunity to hassle them, and with their volatile temperaments that was not a good idea. Also the place reeked, the mix of all the different perfumes and sprays the girls coated themselves in every morning meant that he left school with a roaring head ache nearly every afternoon.

Ollie on the other hand didn't care. It was still as uncomfortable for him as it was for the rest of the pack, and with his limited people skills maybe even more so, but he _loved_ school. He was by far the brightest member of the pack and although no one was game to say it to his face, the kid was a bit of a nerd. His mom had told him on more than one occasion that she wished he would take his schooling as seriously as Ollie did.

It's not like Seth didn't try. He did, he worked his ass off to get this far through school. It was just he was busy, when it wasn't patrol, it was a pack meeting, or a leech crossing the border. There was always something that the Beta had to deal with and so that usually meant school work was pushed to the back of his to do list. Even when he managed to make it to school it was hard to concentrate, exhausted from patrols and distracted by everything going on around him. It was really difficult to focus on what your teacher was saying when you could hear everything that was going on for three class rooms each way. He was a wolf, he wasn't meant to be locked up in a place that was noisy, smelly and full of over excited girls and aggravated boys. Throw in the fact that he couldn't get his quirky imprint off his mind and it meant that Seth hardly heard a thing the teachers were saying to him.

This was the reason that hardly anyone in the pack had actually managed to pass high school. Leah and Sam had phased after they had graduated, Jared and Paul had managed to scrape through, but they had only had to do a year and a bit extra to make up the time they missed, Jake, Embry and Quil had all dropped out in their final year, taking up various jobs and apprenticeships the council had managed to scrape together for them.

Seth and the younger wolfs had a much tougher job ahead of them. They had to complete most of their high school years as shape shifting wolves with super naturally enhanced senses. He had managed so far, but he was dangerously close to being held back last year and he was willing to bet that this year wouldn't be much different. Ollie was the only one who managed to get through by a large margin, everyone else was barely coping. It was just one of the many draw backs to being a teenage shape shifter.

* * *

Thanks to Leah, Seth had been craving chocolate cake for the last eight hours. His stomach was rumbling so loud that he was sure Jake would be able to hear it from the other side of the reservation. And unfortunately for him, Leah was true to her word, and only an empty dish scattered with a few crumbs remained. He sighed mournfully as he headed towards the lounge where he could here Leah roaring in laughter and Mac's heavy breathing. He had no idea how Leah could find this much blood at all amusing, or how Mac could sleep through this much noise.

He supposed she didn't get much sleep last night, when he'd arrived not long after two she had been sitting awake in bed. She'd smiled softly at him as he climbed through her window, him giving her a concerned look. She should be asleep but he had felt the usual wave of fear wash through the imprint bond, she had the nightmare again. She always had them, it was always the same one, but she refused to tell him what they were about, sometimes they were worse than other nights. Tonight was a bad night, a night when she couldn't calm herself down enough to drift back off into sleep.

The only time Mac didn't have the nightmares was when he was with her, and he took great pride in this fact. He used it as leverage so she would let him stay over more often. She'd been so shocked after the first time he'd stayed with her that when she'd woken up and found out that she had been using Seth's chest as her pillow, she had squealed, her arms flailing, and fell out of bed with a thud, waking Seth and bruising her ass something brilliant.

They had gone back to where they left off, being friends, well apart from him spending nights at her house and her using him as a human pillow occasionally. Seth wanted them to be more, he _really_ wanted them to be more, but he was scared of spooking her again. This time she was going to have make the first move. He knew she liked him, he could see she liked him, but he also knew she was still fighting it, fighting him, and that stung a little.

He smiled as he looked down at his imprint who was curled up in a ball on the couch, her hair a mess of dark brown waves around her.

"She passed out about an hour ago", Leah told him, watching her friend as she wiggled and snorted a little in her sleep, causing both of the Clearwater siblings to smile hugely. Leah wasn't going to let her live that down. Seth thought it was adorable.

She stayed asleep until Seth made it to the hall way, he thought she'd be able to sleep better if there was less noise, and less people being murdered with chainsaws.

She rubbed her eyes sleepily as she appraised him. "Maybe I was watching that movie Seth", she told him matter of factly as he set her down on his bed.

He grinned at her, flopping back on the bed beside her, "with your eyes closed? Snoring?"

"I _do not_ snore!" She told him angrily, sitting upright and shooting him a dangerous look.

"Yes you do, you snore Mac", he informed her in an amused tone, his smile growing as she crossed her arms angrily and intensified her glare.

"Well I guess we will just have to agree to disagree on this one, won't we?" She said seriously.

"I guess so", he said, chuckling lightly and resting his head on his hands behind him. Seth sighed deeply, sitting forward when he caught the smell of chocolate cake in the air. "Leah's so _mean_ to me", he told Mac sadly causing her to smile cheerily at him. "She knows chocolate cake is my favourite, and now I'm going to be craving it all day".

Mac grinned at him before jumping excitedly off his bed and heading towards his closet. Seth Clearwater's closet was a very dangerous place to be, and he would rather his imprint stayed far, _far_ away from there.

"Where are you going?" He asked her carefully, watching suspiciously as she shot him her "sit-the-hell-down-and-shut-up-look". Seth may have panicked slightly when she opened the door to his closet and disappeared inside. "Mac, _what_ are you doing?" he asked her, his tone slightly more concerned than before.

"I believe that look I gave you meant shut the fuck up and stay where you are, _alright Clearwate_r", she told him, poking her head out of his closet briefly to glare at him before she resumed her digging around in its mysterious depths.

"Found it!" she shrieked excitedly, emerging from the closet clutching a container heavily wrapped in plastic wrap to her chest.

He gave her a curious look as she sat down beside him on the bed, where he had been sitting nervously waiting for her to reappear from the closet of doom. "What is it?" He asked her, as he attempted to peek under the many layers of plastic wrap.

She glared at him menacingly, silencing any further questions he may have had about the container or its unknown contents. "You have no idea how much trouble I went through to get this", she told him seriously, her voice lowering uneasily. "I could have been badly injured, or worse. You'll like it", she said smiling gently at the small frown in his face as she carefully handing him the package.

It was after he had unwrapped the eighth layer of plastic that he smelt it, one of the best smells in the world, the scent escaping from under the many layers of plastic wrap was that of his Moms chocolate cake. He gave the softly smiling Mac a surprised look before tearing the wrapping off hungrily. He couldn't help the huge grin that spread across his face as he looked at the cake that had been hidden within the container and twelve layers of plastic wrap.

"Do you have any idea how difficult it was to hide that from Leah?" Mac told him seriously, the soft smile on her face betraying her amusement at Seth's reaction; he was still staring at the cake in awe. "I figured your closet was the best place to hide it since it kinda smells nasty. If I can smell it, then I can't imagine how bad it would be for you guys, I was pretty sure Leah wouldn't want to get to close to that... uhh, stench", she told him, her nose wrinkled in disgust, Seth was so excited about the cake that he chose to ignore the insult to his closets odour.

"You braved the wrath of Leah to steal me some cake?" He asked her softly.

She smiled at him happily, "well, it's your favourite, isn't it?"

He nodded enthusiastically, "you're kinda awesome Mac", he told her dreamily taking a large bite out of the cake sighing lustily as he savoured the chocolaty goodness.

"I was born this way" she said simply, watching him inhale the two pieces of cake she had managed to steal for him.

"So good", he moaned as he sank happily back onto his bed, hooking the amused looking Mac around the waist and pulling her across his chest.

"I faced permanent bodily damage, maybe even death, to get you that cake and you repay me by squishing me against your stinky, sweaty chest so hard that I can barely breathe?" She asked, her voice stained and her face red, whether it was from the force of Seth's arm around her keeping her pinned to his bare chest, or from the fact she was lying across a half naked Seth Clearwater, he wasn't sure, but he chuckled heartily, inhaling the sweet scent of his imprint before releasing her.

"Well, how would you have me repay you?" He asked her, waggling his eyebrows suggestively while skilfully dodging the pillow the very red faced Mac had thrown at him.

"I vote you be my personal piggy back machine for a week", she told him gleefully, clasping her hands together in excitement.

"A whole week?" he asked her incredulously.

"You've seen Leah when she's angry right?"

He nodded carefully, oh yeah he'd seen Leah angry before. The gaping hole in his wall covered by a strategically placed Nirvana poster was proof of that, "I've got school and patrol nearly every day next week, but how about tomorrow? I'll be your personal piggy back machine for the whole day".

She hummed thoughtfully, biting her lip as she carefully considered his proposition. One day, that was nowhere near as good as a whole week and considering what Leah would have done to her if she had caught her stealing cake for Seth, she thought that one day was a pretty unfair trade. But Seth was busy, he was _always_ busy. Busy with pack and school, between them the poor boy barely had time to think. Mac sighed mournfully before extending her hand towards him, "I _suppose_ that will have to do", she told him, doing her best to look unimpressed. "From the moment you wake up tomorrow, you, Seth Clearwater, shall be my piggy back slave".

He grinned at her, "Your slave huh?"

"Yup", she said happily, popping the "P". "Don't wake up too early though", she added seriously, "You need a good sleep in, you're tired".

Mac swore she didn't mean to do it, sometimes her body kind of had a mind of its own, today her right hand was feeling particularly frisky, and before she'd even realised she had moved, her fingertips were brushing lightly over the slightly darker area under Seth's eyes. Dark brown eyes that were watching her carefully as she ran her fingers down his cheek and along his strong jaw, her hand continued along, trailing gently down his neck before finishing its journey on his bare chest, her palm splayed open over the place where she could feel his heart beating inside.

"Like you can talk Miss I-fell-asleep-watching-Texas-Chainsaw-Massacre. You barely got any sleep at all last night", he rumbled quietly. "Want to tell me what your nightmare was about?" He asked her, his hand enveloping her smaller one and bringing it up to his lips where he kissed it softly.

"I can't remember", she mumbled, not bothering to meet his eye as she told him the same lie she had told him many times before.

They both knew she was lying, and that was why she flinched when he growled lowly in his chest, his hand tightening around hers. "When you want to tell me about it, when you're ready to talk, I'll be waiting".

"There's nothing to tell", she told him blandly, her face void of any emotion, she chose to ignore the sad, disbelieving look that made its way onto his face as she lied to him again.

"Well in that case I'm staying at your house tonight', he told her matter of factly. "It means I won't have to wake up as early to be at your house early enough to haul you around all day".

She sighed irritably, glaring at him darkly, "I'm sure your mother would much rather you stay in your _own_ bed at nights Seth".

He rolled his eyes, snorting in amusement as he started to play with her fingers, "I'm the Beta of my pack, and I'm eighteen years old, _I do what I like_. Plus, I'm pretty sure my Mom would much rather me be safe and sound at your house than running around in the forest looking for potentially deadly vampires".

Mac frowned at that, she hated that they were the ones that had to protect her from him, he was dangerous and she didn't want him anywhere near Seth, Leah, Ollie, Ben or any other member of the pack for that matter. They were all nice people, they shouldn't be placed in danger to protect her. She wasn't worth it, she wasn't worth them.

"Whatever", she sighed irritably, hoping he would forget and stay home instead. She knew he wouldn't, Seth wasn't the kind of guy to forget things like that.

"How was patrol?" She asked him, changing the subject quickly.

He sighed mournfully, looking up at her from his reclined position beside her, "awful, I mean there weren't any signs of vampires or anything, but I was so hungry", he whined. "All I could think about was chocolate cake".

Mac smiled at him, patting him on his head fondly, unaware that what Seth told her was only partially true, he had thought about her a lot. Both Ollie and Ben, although they were fond of Mac, had seen enough of her face in Seth's mind to last them a life time. Seth was usually good at keeping his thoughts to himself, but when he thought about his imprint he had a tendency to let the occasional thought slip.

"So, enjoy your horror movie marathon?" Seth asked savouring the feeling of his imprints touch as she absently ran her fingers through his short hair. He was sure she didn't realise she was doing it, she was reading through one of his English books from school.

"Hmmm... Oh, it was fun, I think Dawn of the Dead might be my new favourite movie", she informed him cheerily, her eyes not moving from the book in front of her.

"Really?" He chuckled softly. "I don't see what you two see in those movies", he said, watching her carefully as her eyes continued to scan the page of his book. It seemed his imprint loved to read, he really didn't know why. Seth hated to read.

"They're funny", she informed him, yawning quietly. "I like the all the fake gore and bad acting".

"I'm not gunna lie Mac, that's a little weird", he grinned at her innocently when she looked up and glare at him darkly.

"I'm going to choose to ignore that comment Seth", she told him, her eyes once again focused on the book in her right hand, while the fingers on her left hand resuming their travels through his soft hair.

He sighed happily, closing his eyes as they drifted into silence.

And that was how Sue found them an hour and a half later when she went to get the pair for dinner. She knocked carefully on the door, she knew her son would have been able to hear her before she reached his room but he was easily distracted and Sue knew what teenagers were like. She wanted to avoid all possible awkward situations, so she always made sure to knock. She waited until she heard Mac's quite answer before poking her head carefully through the gap in the door. Sue couldn't help the soft smile that made its way onto her face as she looked at her son and his imprint.

Seth was snoring softly, his head resting on Macs lap and one of his arms hooked around her waist. He had a small smile on his face and he sighed loudly as his arm tightened its grip around her waist. Mac was blushing as she watched Sue's eyes scan the scene before her, her book still in one hand while her other hand, which had been alternating between playing with his hair and tracing little patterns down his neck and on his chest, was resting gently on his head.

"Wake that son of mine up and tell him dinners ready, won't you dear", Sue told the beat red Mac. "It's _very_ unlike him to sleep while I'm cooking, but I guess he found something better to distract him", she grinned naughtily, waggling her eyebrows before darting back out of the room, where Leah sighed, and stole the best looking meat patty before Seth got there.

Mac stared after Sue, her face growing even redder as Sues words registered in her mind. Did she just wiggle her eyebrows at her? Well, now she knew where Seth got it from.

She sighed heavily, putting her book down before turning to Seth, who was still dead to the world, and shaking his shoulder gently. "Seth... Seth wake up, dinners ready".

She stared at Seth, who frowned slightly, but otherwise didn't stir at all. She sighed exasperatedly, wriggling in an attempt to escape her warm, muscular prison. "Wake up you dork, or Leah's gunna eat all the food".

When he still didn't respond she decided that drastic times called for drastic measures. She covered his mouth and nose with her hands, cutting off his air supply and causing him to twitch a little in his sleep.

After a couple of seconds with no air, Seth squirmed and opened his eyes, glaring at Mac as she gave him an innocent look, her hands hidden behind her back. "I was having such a nice dream", he moaned, burying his face into the stomach of his imprint, who was blushing furiously. Again.

"Well, that maybe so, but I know for a fact that Leah is out there right now eating all of the food she can, _before you can get there_. It was very necessary", she informed him seriously, smiling when he jumped upright, giving her a look of absolute horror.

That smile vanished with a squeal when Seth, threw her gently over her shoulder, exclaiming that she was right and they were wasting precious food consuming time. He ignored her frustrated growls and violent threats to put her down and he ran toward the kitchen.

She squealed again when he dumped her, gently, into her designated chair around the Clearwater dining table, beside Leah and opposite Seth. He wasted no time in rushing around to his side of the table, sitting down and shooting both his mother, who was smiling softly, and Mac, who was glaring dangerously and muttering darkly, an innocent smile.

He made a happy noise in his throat when he saw his mother had made burgers, he loved burgers. "I love you Mom", he told her dreamily as he swallowed his first bite of burger, ignoring Leah, who coughed something about him being a Momma's boy, and Mac who sniggered and called him a poofter under her breath.

"I know you do Seth, I know you do", Sue told him beaming happily at him. "So how was patrol today?" She asked her son, who had half a burger shoved into his mouth.

He swallowed noisily, smiling sheepishly at his mother's disapproving look before answering, "it was ok, Ollie was excited", he informed the table, choosing to leave out the fact about his constant chocolate cake cravings. He wasn't going to give Leah the satisfaction of knowing she had gotten to him, again. "He tries to hide it, but he's jumping out of his skin at the chance to get back to school... Why I'll never know..."

Sue glared at her son, who had resumed stuffing his face and was now starting on his second burger. "I wish you would take you schooling as seriously as Oliver does, he works so hard at it", she told Seth, in her best lecturing tone. She knew it was hard for him sometimes, but she worried that if he didn't put the effort into his education now then he was going to have trouble finding a job when he was done with school. They were hard enough to come by at the moment as things were, so every little thing he could do now would help later.

Sue had always dreamed of sending her children off to college, she and Harry had started a collage fund for both of her children when they were born. When they had phased that dream had flown out the window, they needed to stay and protect the reservation. She still had the money, there wasn't much but Sue continued to save it, just in case she or her children needed it one day. The money she made at the cafe, which was going very well with all of the tourists visiting the reservation, was enough to keep her family feed and the bills paid.

Seth just sighed, ignoring his mothers comment and concentrated on his food instead.

Dinner, as always, was a relatively quick affair, food didn't tend to last very long in a household with two constantly ravenous wolfs living there. After a good five minutes of arguing, Sue allowed Mac into the kitchen to help her with the dishes, while Leah, who had patrol again in a couple of hours had made her way to her room, wanting to have a quick power nap before she headed out again. Seth was sitting in front of the TV, intently watching an episode of Looney Toons.

Noticing that both of the Clearwater siblings were distracted, Mac decided to take this chance to escape back to the warmth and safety of her bed. She yawned hugely, smiling sleepily at Sue who was giving her a sympathetic look. "I think I'll head home now", she informed the older woman quietly, hoping not to catch the attention of Seth, who was laughing uproariously at the TV. "I'm about ready to drop. Thanks' for dinner, I'll see you tomorrow", she whispered before sneaking off out the front door.

She sighed in relief when she was about twenty meters from the Clearwater home, it had become a regular thing for either Leah or Seth to walk Mac home, and to be honest it annoyed the crap out of her. She knew they both worried about her but it made her feel like a baby, and Mac _hated_ feeling like a baby. She loved them both dearly, but sometimes the two had a tendency to be a bit over protective, she guessed it was a wolf thing, although she knew Sue wasn't keen on the idea of her walking home alone either. She had made that clear with the disapproving look she had given her as she had snuck out the door.

Mac already felt like enough of a burden to the Clearwater family, they were always doing things for her and Sue made sure Mac was around every night for dinner. Even though she gave them money towards food every week, something that no one in the family was happy with her doing, it didn't stop her from feeling guilty at being so dependent on them.

Mac was so busy being sneaky that she didn't notice the people in front of her before it was too late for her to avoid them. She cursed under her breath as the group of teenage boys looked up at her, she didn't miss the way their eyes racked down her body before focusing on her face. Typical, the only time she managed to sneak off without an escort and she bumped into Trey Carter and his bunch of idiots.

"Snowflake, long time no see", he said loudly, handing the bottle in his hands to one of his friends and advancing towards her.

And to make things even better they were drunk. Idiots and alcohol, _what a brilliant combination_.

She stood her ground, smirking when she noticed the slightly crooked angle of his nose from their last encounter. "Not long enough if ya ask me", she growled. "Bye", she snapped, attempting to step around the smirking group of boys.

"Woe, woe, woe, where do you think you're off to?" Trey asked, hooking his arm roughly around her waist, she wrinkled her nose in disgust, she didn't know how much he had had to drink but her reeked of alcohol.

"Piss off Trey", she growled, yanking his arm roughly from around her, "want me to break your nose again fucker?" She hissed, shifting away from him, but still conscious of the two others who were watching them with interest and blocking her exit.

That wiped the smirk of his face pretty quickly; he glared, shooting his sniggering friends a dangerous look, silencing them both before he stepped closer to her, this time she frowned taking several steps backwards towards the Clearwater household which was now a ten minute walk away.

She wasn't scared, she was confident that she could take him if he tried anything. It was if his friends decided to get involved that she was going to have issues.

"Heard you been spending a lot of time with the Clearwater's", he told her, continuing to follow her as she backed away from him. She cursed lightly, stepping forward with a surprised yelp when she backed into the chest of another, taller teenager. She hadn't seen him coming, and right about now she was starting to feel a little bit alarmed.

Mac was now sandwiched between two stinky, over excited, pushy teenager boys and she was feeling more than a little uncomfortable, because unlike Trey Carter and his smaller friends, this newcomer was built. Not Seth built, but still built enough that she was sure that breaking his nose would pose more of a challenge than breaking the nose of the gangly and relatively scrawny Trey.

"Don't you know there a bunch of freaks?" Trey sneered, his friends nodding in agreement. "Their constantly drugged up, running around half naked... They think they're better than us. They're not", he informed her lowly. "They're trash", he snarled.

If Mac was scared she didn't show it and if looks could kill Trey Carter would be dead. "The Clearwater's are about as far from trash as you can get_. You on the other hand are the definition of trash_", she hissed, taking a step forward and jabbing him roughly in the chest. "Now, if you excuse me I got place's to be", she snapped coldly, attempting to step around the teenager again.

"You don't know what you're talking about", he growled, his clammy hand tightening around her wrist painfully. "You're like them, think you too good to hang out us do you Miss Grey?"

You would think that he would have learnt from the last time they met to avoid to pissing her off and he probably should have recognised the dangerous glint in her eye as he tightened his grip on her wrist. He didn't have time to react before Mac raised her hand, her fist connecting painfully with his eye and causing him to stumble backwards cursing loudly and clutching his eye.

She was readying herself to deal him a kick to the crutch when the larger friend grabbed her roughly around the waist, chuckling darkly as he listened to his friend swear angrily.

"She's definitely a feisty one", he said, his voice deep and gruff and Mac growled at him to let her the fuck go as his smoky, boozy smelling breath blew across her face. She squirmed in his arms but he was too strong and after a couple of scratches to his face he had taken both of her wrists in his free large hand. "I like her", he decided, burying his face in the crook of Mac's neck and inhaling deeply.

"Yeah?" Trey hissed, "Well she didn't just punch you in the face did she? This bitch is fucking crazy", he growled.

Mac wasn't expecting him to hit her, but the sharp, open handed blow he dealt to her cheek caused her to gasp. Now she really was scared and her cheek was stinging from where he had slapped her, if she wasn't outnumbered four to one then she would have given him crap for hitting like a girl. She screamed loudly as she lashed out with her feet, drawing a satisfied yell from Trey as her foot hit him roughly in the shins. While he was regaining his composure she turned her head biting down hard on the arm of the taller boy restraining her, he hissed in pain pushing her away from him and releasing her wrists, causing her to stumble forward and land heavily on the ground, scraping her knees and hands.

She stood quickly, kneeing one of the two friends, who had been standing off to the side and was now making a grab for her, roughly in the groin but as she turned to flee the tall boy grabbed her again, more violently this time, by her already bruising wrist and pulled her to face him, the fist he had raised never did connect with her face like he intended. Instead his fist was intercepted by a furious Seth Clearwater.

Seth had been happily watching a particularly interesting Looney Toons episode when he felt Mac's panic wash through the imprint bond. He had sworn loudly and rushed out of the front door following the scent and pull of his imprint down the street. He was running as fast as he could without looking _too_ inhuman, which became even more difficult as he felt Mac's panic change to fear. He felt something else to, pain. _His imprint was in pain_.

Seth hadn't even realised that she had left that house he had assumed she was with Leah, talking about something girly or their favourite horror movie. She had never tried to leave without him before. He should have been paying attention; he should have kept an eye on her. _Damn it_ he should have been more careful. _She_ should have been more careful.

As he rounded the corner he heard his imprint let out a desperate scream, causing his already shaking hands to move so fast that they were almost a blur. There were four of them, two of them vanishing as soon as they saw the quickly approaching Seth, while the taller boy grabbed his imprint roughly by her wrist, raising his fist ready to strike her across the face. He didn't even see Seth coming, he only noticed him when Seth's larger fist tightened painfully around his own, and then everything was black, but that's what you get for trying to _hit_ a wolfs imprint.

Seth was almost disappointed when the young man collapsed into the ground, clearly unconscious and bleeding profusely from his nose. Trey Carter gave him a terrified look as he slowly backed away from Seth, who was growling lowly his eyes dangerous as he advanced towards him, pulling the shocked and bruised Mac behind him protectively.

Seth was going _kill_ him.

He was going to make him pay for even _looking_ at his imprint. Trey Carter was going to wish he was never born. Well that's what Seth would have made him wish for if Mac hadn't rested her shaking, bleeding hand on his trembling forearm and asked him to calm down. Can they please just leave?

Trey was crying now because Seth was snarling at him, his hand tightening around his throat. Mac was pleading with him, she was scared, she wanted to go home. Seth snarled brutally, his eyes not leaving the sobbing teenager in front of him as he shook Mac's hand off his arm and pushed her behind him again. He could feel her fear and it was making him angrier, making him want to break every bone in Treys worthless little body.

"Seth please, you're scaring me", she begged, her voice trembling nearly as much as the hands that were tightening around Treys throat.

He froze when her words registered in his mind, Mac wasn't scared of Trey, she was scared of _him_.

"_Please_", she begged as another sob escaped her lips.

"_If you, or any of your friends, __**ever**__ come near her again, if you even look at her, I will kill you",_ he threatened lowly, giving the scrawny teen a hard push and sending him sprawling across the cracked pavement.

He turned to face Mac, who was sobbing quietly and pulled her gently to his chest, his trembling stopping as he looked at her terrified face. He turned around, giving the teenage boy a dark look, snarling inhumanly at him once more before he scooping Mac up and headed towards her house.

By the time they reached her little cottage she had stopped crying but Seth had to unlock the door for her because she was still shaking a little. Seth shut the door behind him, walking over to Mac who was sitting quietly on the couch. He snarled softly when he saw the purple bruises that coloured her pale skin, her cheek was swollen from where Trey had struck her and her wrist was already several shades of a lovely purple colour from where the boy's hands had held her.

He ran his finger gently over the swollen spot on her cheek, growling when she winced at the contact.

"That's it" he snarled standing abruptly, "I'm gunna kill them".

"What?" Mac said her voice panicked. "No, _no way Seth_, that will just get you in trouble", she pleaded.

He paused his hand hovering over the door handle as his eyes swept her battered figure.

"Please just stay with me Seth", she begged.

"Shit Mac, what the _hell_ were you thinking?" He asked angrily, "_Why the fuck do you fight me on every little thing? Couldn't you have just waited?_"

"I don't know", she growled. "I'm just sick of having to be babied, everyone always has to look after me, but _apparently_ I need it because I can't even walk down the _fucking_ _street_ without getting into some kind of trouble._ I'm sorry I'm such a fucking burden, ok?"_

"_Fuck it",_ he snarled, slamming his hand down on the door handle so hard that it snapped off, clattering to the floor. He glared at the door for a couple of seconds before he stormed off towards the kitchen, rummaging around in her cupboards noisily until he found the medical kit she kept there. He was becoming far too familiar with this little green bag for his liking.

Apart from a few quite snarls and growls the Beta was mostly silent as he cleaned and bandaged the scrapes on her hands and knees. He had given her a popsicle wrapped in a dish towel to hold on her swelling cheek, a bag of peas would have been better but the sweet icy treats were the only things Mac actually had in her small freezer.

"You're not a burden, Mac" he informed her quietly as he finished his final bandage on her left knee. "You're stubborn as hell and I really wish you would just trust me every now and then, but you're _not_ a burden".

She looked at him sadly, "yes I am Seth, if it's not Annabeth and Oscar, it's you, or Leah, or the pack. You guys shouldn't have to waste your time looking after me".

"I am _not_ wasting my time looking after you. You are worth every second of my time", he told her seriously, his warm hands enclosing her smaller ones which were, once again, heavily bandaged.

Mac begged to differ, but now wasn't the time to argue with Seth, not about this. Not when she could feel that he was so damn close to walking out that door and hunting down every one of those bastards. He didn't feel that they had suffered nearly enough for laying their filthy hands on _his_ imprint.

"Seth..." Mac said her voice soft. "How did you know where I was? How did you even know I needed... uh, help?" She asked him reluctantly, it didn't escape her notice that he tensed visibly at her question.

He fidgeted nervously with her fingers while he answered, "I followed you scent," he told her simply. "I didn't know you were in trouble, I only realised that when I heard you scream, I was just trying to catch up with you since I was planning on sleeping on your couch tonight any way, you know be your piggy back slave and all".

Mac was pretty sure he was lying to her, he looked nervous, he sounded nervous and he sure as hell felt nervous. It had been getting worse lately, the feeling what Seth felt. It only happened when his emotions were at an extreme, like when he was really angry, or really excited about something. When he was angry, she could feel it and his emotions carried on over to her making her angry as well, even if it wasn't to the same extent as Seth's anger.

Seth, as an imprinted wolf had always been able to feel her, and unlike Mac he could feel her emotions almost constantly. The bond between them was a two way street, not that either of them realised this, but Seth, as the wolf, could feel her emotions a lot stronger than she did his.

"I think we're even Seth", Mac told him, smiling gently. "Don't worry about it, go home and get some sleep for a change".

She wanted to tell him about it, she wanted to ask him what the hell was going on with them, because to be honest it was starting to scare the shit out of her. She thought it was something to do with the wolves and the pack, but she wasn't sure and as much as she wanted to talk about it she could tell without even looking at his face and the way his jaw was clamped tightly shut, that he didn't. Usually that wouldn't have bothered her, but right now Seth wasn't in the mood to be pushed.

"He raised his eyebrow at that, "a deal was a deal, and your piggy back slave I shall be", he told her, loving the excited smile that crossed her face. "And plus, I'm already here, so I might as well stay".

She sighed mournfully, standing and heading towards the kitchen, planning on ferreting out any sweets she had left. "You can stay if you want", she said grudgingly. "You were probably just going to sleep outside any way".

He blushed a little at that, "I was not", he whined, even though maybe he would have, but she didn't need to know that. After what had just happened you couldn't really blame him for not wanting to leave his imprint. He could have lost her today.

She raised her eyebrows at him, giving him a "really?" look.

Seth choose to change the subject to much more comfortable topic of conversation after that, talking instead about the next bonfire and Mac maybe spending some time with Emily or Kim, because he and Leah had been spending a lot of time patrolling lately and he thought it would give her something to do.

This time it was Mac's turn to fall asleep on Seth and so he carried her carefully to her bed, removing her shoes and placing her gently under the covers. His grin was nearly face splitting when she whined quietly in her sleep, burying her face into his chest and clamping her hands onto his shirt.

Seth really did try to get her to let go but she could be rather strong when she wanted to and no matter how hard he tried he couldn't detach her from his chest. So maybe Mac had an inhumanly strong grip, or maybe he just didn't try very hard, but either way he ended up being Mac's human pillow for the night, he really didn't mind. In fact he was completely fine with this situation.

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_Thank you for reading =), I hope you liked it!_


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 11 **

_So... Sorry this is so late but I have been super busy with hospital placements and assignments. I hope you guys like the chapter, I'm not too sure about it but oh well. Thank you, as always , for reading, but especially to those of you who reviewed, mel(dot)wolfgirl, l__aurazuleta18, kieraa, BlackAmulet, brandibuckeye, QahlanKwaiya and chicadee74_

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Mac groaned loudly as she rolled over in her bed, the ache of her wrists waking her wake up a lot earlier than she would have liked. That and the fact she was absolutely boiling. She was pretty sure that had something to do with the soundly sleeping Seth Clearwater who she was currently draped across. She blushed, as she always did when she realised she had spent the entire night cuddled up against his chest. It was starting to become a habit and as much as she fussed about him staying over she would be lying if she said she didn't like it.

It had taken Mac a while to realise why her nightmares didn't seem to occur when he stayed over, but she was sure it had something to do with the fact that he made her feel safe. Very few people made Mac feel safe, she wondered if it was because he puffed into a giant wolf or if it was just a Seth thing.

She had a suspicion that it was just a Seth thing.

He was smiling in his sleep, and Mac thought he looked adorable. Seth was a carefree kind of guy by nature, but recently he had been a lot more serious. He spent nearly all of his time with Mac or running patrols and it was showing on his face. The Beta looked tired, the underneath of his eyes framed by dark circles and he smiled a lot less, his usually happy expression often serious.

But you couldn't really blame him, any of the other wolves would have been the same if their imprints were being hunted by a leech, particularly one as twisted and sly as this one.

It took Mac ten minutes to disentangle her limbs from his and creep stealthily down the bed without waking Seth. She tip toed into the kitchen and poured herself a bowl of cereal, cereal of the sugar coated kind. As she ate, she thought about Seth. She thought about his smile, and how he made her laugh. She thought about how he was always looking out for her, how he made her feel safe and his chest. She thought about his chest a lot, and his arms, Mac liked his arms, almost as much she liked the way he laughed and teased her. He was such a happy person and being around him made her happy. She definitely liked Seth.

Mac froze, her spoon halfway to her mouth with another load of cereal. She liked being around Seth, he was her friend and she thought maybe he liked her as more than a friend, but she wasn't sure. She had always been slightly oblivious when it came to boys. But how much did she like him? She was pretty sure that some of the things she thought about him, weren't very freindish at all. She had a particularly non friend dream about him last week actually, it involved his chest, arms and lips, and none of the things he used them for were activities appropriate for strictly friends to do together.

She continued eating, munching on her cereal thoughtfully, her cheeks slightly pink as she thought about exactly what that dream had entailed. Sometimes Seth would tell her about his days at school, and more than once she had found herself inexplicably angry as he talked about any girls that were in his class. Well, at least she knew now why she had been angry. She was jealous, the thought of other girls flirting with him, being with him. It made her more than a little bit mad, she had the sudden urge to punch something actually.

Just because she had finally realised that she liked Seth in more than a friend way didn't mean she had to do anything about it. She wasn't even sure if Seth liked her back, maybe he just felt sorry for her. And then there was Leah, Mac was pretty sure there was some unspoken girl rule against jumping your best friends little brother, as well as the fact Mac was sure that a great guy like Seth deserved someone better than her... someone less broken up inside.

She thumped her head down roughly on the table sighing loudly, she liked Seth Clearwater and she had absolutely no idea what to do about it.

"If you think any harder Mac you're going to give yourself an aneurism", Seth mused drolly, interrupting Mac's current internal debate.

Her head shot up of the table, her eyes finding the amused looking Seth leaning against the wall by the door. She blushed as their eyes met, "How long have you been standing there?" she asked him nervously.

He chuckled lightly, pushing himself of the wall and moving to pour himself a bowl of cereal. "Long enough to see you stare at nothing for five minutes frowning up a storm", he told her, plopping down in the seat opposite her and giving her a small smile.

"You gunna tell me what you were thinking about so hard?" He asked, nudging her foot gently with his own.

She dropped her gaze to the table, her cheeks reddening slightly as he watched her speculatively.

"Mac, are you blushing?" he asked her, sitting forward, reaching across the table and tilting her head forward so he could see her face more clearly. "You are!" he exclaimed, grinning widely at her, "now I really want to know what you were thinking about".

The smile vanished from his face when she blushed even harder, looking more than a little mortified. Now he really wanted to know what she was thinking, if she wasn't swearing then he knew whatever it she was thinking about was really bothering her, Mac never didn't have a comeback.

"Damn, I really wish I was Edward about now", Seth muttered, watching Mac curiously.

He sighed, releasing his gentle grip on her chin and allowing her to drop her gaze to the table once more. "Why do you want to be Edward? Who's Edward?" She mumbled curiously, knowing that despite her quiet voice Seth would hear her questions.

"Oh, he's a... friend of the pack. There's a vegetarian coven in Forks, him and his family live there in a flash house. I don't think they'll be sticking around much longer though, people are starting to talk", he explained carefully. "And I want to be Edward because he is what we call a talented vampire, and right now his talent would let me see what was going on in that complicated, pretty little head of yours".

He smiled when Mac's eyes widened slightly, "he can read minds?" she asked incredulously, looking up from the table.

"Yup, it's a very useful talent", he told her easily. "Annoys the hell out of everyone else though".

"Hey, you realise that's no fair right? You having vampire friends when I'm not allowed to see Annabeth and Oscar at all", she told him, somewhat annoyed. She hadn't seen the two in weeks, and she missed her two protectors more than she was willing to admit, the pack was reluctant to let her near the reservation boarder knowing that there was a leech after her, the fact that it was to see more leeches, all be it vegetarian ones, meant that they had decided it would be best if she didn't see them for a while. Seth would be fine with forever.

Seth frowned, he really didn't like his imprint being around vampires. He especially didn't like her being around the male one, Seth and him didn't really see eye to eye. "That's different Mac", he told her seriously. "I am a shape shifting super wolf, you are a very fragile teenage girl. You have no business around potentially dangerous vampires".

"That's ridiculous Seth", Mac growled, glaring at him and crossing her arms stubbornly. "I lived with them for an entire year, _oh, and look at that_! I'm still alive".

Seth levelled her a flat stare, "they're dangerous Mac". He was not willing to compromise on his imprints safety, no matter how much it annoyed her.

"_Oh, and you're not?_" she asked angrily, shooting him a frustrated look.

Seth froze, a hurt expression crossing his face, an expression that matched the wave of emotion that she felt in her gut seconds after she had made the comment.

"I would _never_ hurt you", he stated sadly but confidently, looking straight into her eyes.

"I know", she told him simply, reaching across the table and resting her hand gently on his forearm, "and neither will they. They _saved_ me Seth and I really wish you guys wouldn't be so hard on them".

He grimaced still not liking the idea at all. He didn't like the idea of someone having to save his imprint, especially from a blood thirsty vampire. "So, where do you plan on having me carry you today", Seth asked, changing to something her was more comfortable discussing.

Mac glared at him, not missing his attempt to change the subject.

Seth sighed tiredly, "Just let it drop Mac, I'm not compromising with you, not on this one".

She growled, shooting him an accusing look before storming of towards her room and slamming her bedroom door behind her. She searched around on her messy bedroom floor until she had found an appropriate outfit for the day. She chose a long sleeved shirt because the bruises had only worsened over night and she really didn't want everyone to know about her little escapade last night. She would prefer that stay between her and Seth although she doubted it would remain this way. In the pack things didn't seem to stay secret for very long. Not only that but at breakfast Seth's eyes kept flickering to the dark, hand shaped bruises, his eye's darkening dangerously as he did. Mac could _feel_ he was inches from hunting those boy's down and snapping them like twigs.

She completely ignored Seth when she passed him in the hall on her way to the shower. She stood under the hot water longer than she usually would have muttering about stupid wolves and their stupid rules.

Seth sighed as his imprint swore and cursed away about the pack, well mostly him actually. Seth knew his imprint missed her friends, he could feel it, but it just wasn't safe for her. He slumped down against the wall in the hallway, waiting for her to finish listing off one hundred reasons why he was an idiot to her shampoo bottle.

Her shampoo bottle was a very good listener, it agreed with all of her one hundred points, especially number sixty three, Seth Clearwater was a giant hypocritical meany pants. The language

Mac's mood had dramatically improved after her half an hour shower and she only glared at Seth a little when she emerged from the steamed up little bathroom. He was giving her his puppy dog eyes and as always she couldn't stay angry at him when he was looking at her like that.

"Where to captain?" he asked her, once the glare on her face had vanished and her lips started to curve up in to the slightest smile.

"Hmmmmm... What are Ollie and Ben doing today?" Mac asked, her face excited at the prospect of seeing the two young wolves.

He paused thoughtfully, "they don't have patrol today, so we can swing by and see what they're up to. Then we could visit some of the other guys, like a pack visiting day".

Mac clasped her hands together excitedly and smiled nervously at him, "I don't really know the others, you sure they wouldn't mind?"

He snorted in amusement, taking a couple of steps towards his nervous looking imprint, "of course they won't mind. You're pack they'll want to see you. The girls have been asking after you too, so we'll swing by and see Emily in our travels", he told her, flashing her an easy smile.

She returned his smile, closing the distance between them and tugging on his arm, "sounds like a plan", she said enthusiastically. "You sure you want to carry me everywhere? I can walk if you want".

"Nope, a deal is a deal", he told her, loving the way her face lit up as he did. Seth smiled as he let his imprint tug him towards the door, her fingers laced with his. Her hand was so small compared to his and he couldn't help but think about how fragile she really was, no matter how much she protested otherwise. The purple bruises on her slender wrists were a testament to that, if Seth ever saw those fuckers again he was going to have a hard time stopping himself from ripping them to pieces.

Mac seemed to notice his change in mood, and she glanced back at him worriedly, "you ok?" She asked him, closing her front door behind them. She blushed when she realised she was holding his warm hand in her own, dropping it and muttering a quiet sorry to him.

He smiled as her cheeks flushed a pretty pink colour, ruffling her hair affectionately before taking her hand in his and giving it a gentle squeeze. "I'm fine Mac", he told her, smiling gently. "And don't be sorry, not about that", he said softly, his eyes not leaving hers. It didn't escape his notice that her heart rate increased as his hand enveloped hers once more.

She watched him carefully, her eyes searching his, before dropping her gaze to their joined hands and lacing their fingers together carefully. Her cheeks darkened another shade of pink but she nodded, and looked back up at him.

"Well, Ben and Ollie will be at Ben's house eating his Mom's awesome pancakes..." he trailed off, a look of excitement on his face. "If we hurry, they'll have to give me some, coz I'm their Beta. Quick, jump on!" He told her, dropping down as low as he could so she could climb onto his shoulders.

There was a fair bit of cursing involved, but eventually she was perched happily on his shoulders, looking around excitedly and surveying the world around her curiously. She could see so much more from up here. Seth was walking rather fast, and the only thing keeping her from tumbling to her doom was his firm grip on her ankles. Well, that and the fist full of his hair she was holding onto.

People stared at them as they rushed down the foot path, Seth jolting her every now and then, making her curse and him smile. They passed a group of girls, who giggled loudly and watched Seth way to closely for her liking. One of the girls called out to Seth, and he stopped, turning and giving the girl a friendly smile. From what Mac could gather from the short conversation the girl was Seth's age and went to school with him, that and the fact that she liked Seth way more than Mac was comfortable with.

She was pretty, her russet skin flawless and her lips full, she had pretty brown eyes and her hair was shiny and straight, hanging down to above her slim shoulders. Ok, so Mac admitted she was beautiful. She realised with a sigh that this was the sort of girl Seth should be with, the sort he deserved, someone pretty and normal. Normal being something that she most certainly wasn't.

She felt Seth's grip on her ankle tighten and Mac realised that the girl was looking at her. Well, glaring was a better word to describe it. Mac smiled and gave the girl a little wave as Seth introduced her to the girl who she learnt was named Nicole. After that Nicole went back to ignoring her, focusing her questions, eyelash fluttering, and protruding chest at the tall Quileute boy whose shoulders Mac was currently sitting on.

As they walked away Mac may or may not have turned around and given the girl a glare that made the smile fade from her face. She also may have flipped her the finger.

When they finally reached they young wolfs house, Mac was bouncing on Seth's shoulders excitedly. He was unsure whether he should be offended that his imprint seemed more excited to see two of the packs younger wolfs than she ever did to see him.

Mac squealed when Seth unexpectedly leant forward dumping her over his shoulder, but hooking one arm around her waist before she hit the ground, his movements so fast that they would have been a blur to the human eye. He grinned when she glared at him and called him a jerk under her breath, hitting him gently in the chest. She was going to punch him harder but the last time she had done that her hand had been sore for a week, and she didn't really need any more bruises right now.

He chuckled and walked passed her into the small house, not even bothering to knock on the door. Seth knew that the two younger wolves would hear him, they'd heard them approaching from half way down the street. Mac wasn't really the stealthy type.

Ben shot the Beta a white toothed smile as he sat down at the dining table, Ollie glanced up from the pancakes that were piled onto the plate in front of him and nodded slightly before continuing to destroy the towering stack.

Seth sighed, glancing back towards the door where Mac was still standing uncertainly, "get in here Mac, before I come back out there and _drag_ you in". He smiled when he heard her quite footsteps as she walked down the hall.

"Mac!" Ben yelled happily, standing from the dinner table and embracing the startled girl as she walked into the dining room. "How's my favourite girl today?" he asked her, still squishing her against his chest.

"I was good", she told the grinning teenager, who just smiled cheekily and dragged the cursing now girl over to the table, pulling her across his knee as he sat down opposite to Seth.

Mac sighed mournfully, snuggling back against the teenage boy's chest. She considered fighting him, but she knew from experience that that wouldn't work. "Hey Ollie", she said, giving the wolf beside her a fond smile.

Ollie looked up from his food long enough to give the imprint a little wave and a hello mumbled around a mouthful of pancakes. Mac's smile grew as a piece of the pancake flew from his mouth and landed on his younger friends arm, causing him to squeal in disgust and flick the slobbery piece of food across the room, where it stuck ominously to the window until later that day, when Ben's Mom noticed it and cleaned it off, and tried not to think about how it got there.

The Beta wasn't sure how he felt about his imprint snuggling up to his pack brother. He knew that Ben didn't like Mac like that; he'd been in the kid's head after all. He knew Ben meant nothing by it, but that didn't mean he _liked_ it. He couldn't help it if he shot the kid a dark glare, making him squirm and loosen his grip on her waist. Ben was the most submissive wolf in the pack and so having the pack's Beta look at him like that, well it made him want to hide under the table.

Mac looked over at Seth and smiled happily, still perched on the edge Ben's knee. Seth returned her smile and relaxed back into his chair, he decided on focusing his attention on the huge stack of pancakes in front of both the younger wolves.

Seth's mouth was watering and he was hoping that Ollie, who was currently getting listening to something the smiling imprint was telling him, wouldn't notice if he stole one of the many syrup covered pancakes he had on his plate. Unfortunately for Seth he did, and he gave him dark look before moving the plate out of Seth's reach. Beta or not, Ollie wasn't giving up one of his pancakes, especially when he didn't ask nicely.

He pouted and sighed mournfully, staring at the plate sadly. Mac grinned at him wickedly, before leaning over and taking the top pancake from Ollie's stack, he glanced at her but otherwise he let the obvious pancake theft slide.

She had the audacity to look Seth right in the eye as she ate it.

Seth whined unhappily, shooting Mac a betrayed look before glaring at the two younger wolves, one was smiling hugely, while the others face was its usual impassive mask. "Why does she get a pancake?" He asked accusingly, pouting as he watched his imprint pop the last piece of her stolen food into her mouth, wiggling her eyebrows at him and licking the syrup from her lip.

Ben smiled easily at the Beta, "Well, no offence man, but she's prettier than you".

"And she smell's nicer too", Ollie added gruffly, shovelling a whole pancake into his mouth.

Seth actually look offended at that, "I don't smell bad", he grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back in his chair.

"Yeah, but she smell's _nicer_", Ollie told him quietly, picking up his plate and licking remaining syrup of the plate and his fingers.

"It's ok Seth", Mac told him cheerily, resting her cheek on Ollie's warm arm. "I think you smell nice... ish".

"Thanks", he told her wryly, deciding now would be a good time to change the subject away from himself. Instead he moved on to the safer subject of Pack business, patrol schedules and Ace and Coopers latest antics.

After visiting Ben and Ollie for a good portion of the day the two made their to Jared and Kim's house where Seth and Jared talked about boy's stuff, well Mac assumed they did because she and Kim were too busy talking about Seth and Jared's collective dorkiness to hear anything the two offended looking wolves were saying.

Next on there visiting list were Sam and Emily, Seth could have taken Mac to see any of the pack, except Ace, Cooper and Jake, who were on the afternoon patrol, but he decided it would be good for her to spend some time with the other imprints, that and Claire was down and Mac had yet to encounter the little girl and her dangerous pout.

* * *

When Seth strolled into the former Alpha's house, his nervous imprint in tow, Sam was lying on the couch, his face buried in his hands as he and Quil were forced to suffer through the movie that was Barbie and the Diamond Castle. When Seth saw the look of pure horror on his two pack brothers face's Seth considered turning and walking right back out the door. Nothing was worth this shit.

Then he saw his imprint smile as Emily greeted her in a warm hug. He saw her take the little girls hand as she offered it to her, shaking it vigorously despite how sticky and candy covered her tiny hands were, and he smiled as Claire looked Mac up and down seriously before offering her a piece of her candy. He saw Mac's eyes light up, much like Claire's did when Quil promised to play fairy princesses with her, when she took said candy from the little girl, and Seth decided that maybe it was worth it, hell, they all knew that his imprint could really do with smiling a more often.

Then the princesses on the movie started _singing,_ causing the three wolves to cringe, and Seth had to fight the urge to throw his imprint over his shoulder and sprint the entire way back to his house.

He almost cried with relief when Jake's echoing howl reached his ears, signalling to them that yet another leech had broken the border. He was pretty sure that considering that the two wolves beside him at already endured two Barbie movie's prior to this that they were even more eager to get out of the house that he was.

He gave his imprint a serious look, "stay here until I come back and get you, alright Mac?" Seth told her, ruffling her hair and giving her a fond look before heading towards the door, followed closely by the other two wolves after they had said goodbye to their imprints.

He was half way to the thick tree's that bordered Sam and Emily's back yard when he felt his imprints fear. Fear strong enough that it made him stumble, leaning on Quil for support. They heard the sound of Mac's footsteps as she rushed out of the house, and Seth couldn't help but be slightly surprised as he saw the worry creased onto his imprints face.

Sam and Quil nodded at him before disappearing into the darkness.

He gave her a questioning look as she approached him, "what's wrong Mac?" he asked, glancing towards the trees where he could hear his pack hunting. Seth hoped he got there in time to see some action. He hoped it was the leech that was hunting Mac so he could tear it to pieces and make his great day even better.

"You better be careful", she told him, her tone serious but laced with worry. "I swear to God Seth, if you die, I'm bringing you back to life, and then I'm gunna beat you to death with your own arms. It won't be pleasant. _At all_. So don't die", she growled, taking a step backwards from Seth, who was watching her carefully, his eyes soft.

"I'm not going to die Mac, _he is_", Seth told her, stepping forward quickly and placing soft kiss on her forehead.

And then he was gone. One moment he was there, pressing his lips to her forehead, and then he was gone. She frowned, she hadn't realised that he was that fast. She sighed, glancing out into the darkness once more before walking back into the house Emily was waiting to attempt to teach her to cook.

It's not that Mac didn't like Emily, she did, Emily was lovely. It was just that the older girls definition of fun differed greatly from Macs and after Mac had ruined her third batch of muffins Emily had grudgingly accepted that no matter how hard she tried to teach her, Mac was never going to master the art of baking, and so she was banished to the living room with a hyperactive Claire, where she was far away from any food she could possibly ruin.

This banishment was fine by her, in fact she was more than a little relieved that no one would have to be forced to experience the horrors of her attempts at cooking. As much as Mac wanted to be friends with Emily the two just had very little in common, on the other hand she discovered Claire and her had a lot in common. Both of the imprints ate a lot more candy than was healthy on a daily basis, it was their favourite food, neither girl liked the colour pink, they both had a love of drawing, both regularly used their wolfs as piggy back slaves and maybe even best off all they both had been banished from the kitchen as Emily considered them a "serious threat" to her baked goods. Mac was unsure whether this was a good thing or that maybe she should be worried about the fact that she had more in common with a five year old girl than nearly anyone else she had meet on the reservation so far. To be fair she was a particularly mature five year old.

Mac spent the next two hours teaching Claire to walk on her hands. It was a two hours filled with Mac attempting not to swear, a lot of crashing, a lot of giggling and the formation of few new bruises for the girls. Mac felt that this was a two hours well spent.

The other thing about Emily that bothered Mac was the gruesome scars that ran down one side of the pretty girls face, down her neck and along one of her arms. Mac had thought her own scars were bad, but in comparison to the older girls they looked like tiny scratches, and at least she could hide hers, poor Emily's were on display twenty four seven for the world to see. Mac tried not to stare at them as it as easy to tell that it made Emily more than a little uncomfortable, but she couldn't help the way that her eyes lingered on them. Mac thought it was a testament to the older girls' beauty that she was still very pretty, even with her burden.

What bothered Mac the most about her scars were the obvious cause of them. Mac was willing to bet that unlike what the rest of the La Push reservation believed that it was not a bear that caused her injuries, but a wolf. Mac was pretty sure that the wolfs name was Sam. It reinforced Leah's warning about getting the hell away from any pack member when they were angry, Seth and Leah included. If they were shaking, her ass was out of there.

It was after Emily had cooked them tea and Mac was sitting stiffly near the window when the little approached her, giving her a sympathetic look before plopping down beside her and patting her knee with her chubby, sticky little hand.

"Don't worry Mac", she informed the dark headed young woman beside her. "It's ok to be scared sometimes".

"I told you I'm not scared Claire", Mac sighed, glancing at the little girl, who shot her a disbelieving look, before returning her gaze to the forest outside, in the direction that she could feel Seth was.

"It's ok to be scared", she told her quietly. "Even Quily gets scared sometimes, like the time I went for a walk in the forest by myself, he was scared then and he's scared of bug's".

"Quil's scared of bugs?" She asked incredulously, chuckling at the mental picture of the muscle bound Quileute man running away from a tiny bug.

"Yup", Claire informed him cheerily. "Uncle Emmy tells me that he screams like a girl", she told her seriously.

Mac snorted, shooting the young girl an amused look. "I like you kid", she told the pleased looking little girl, ruffling her hair affectionately.

"That's good, because I like you too Mac, you're nice... Does this mean we're friends?" She asked hopefully.

Mac grinned, her worries temporarily forgotten as she pulled the little girl onto her lap, giving her a tight hug and making the little girl giggle. "Of course we are, Claire, I've never met anyone who liked candy as much as I do, so you are definitely something special".

"Quily's my best friends we can be candy friends", Claire informed her, twisting in her arms to pat her gently on the head. Mac forced herself to smile as the little girl listed off reasons why Quil was such a good wolf and all of the things that the two did together, Mac wondered briefly why a twenty something year old shape shifter was hanging around a four year old, but she dismissed the thought and instead returned to worrying about Seth, Leah, Ollie and Ben. If something happened to them, to any of the wolves out there, she was _never_ going to forgive herself.

If the older woman in the next room lost her fiancé tonight, if someone died, it was on her head.

* * *

Emily Young was a very observant woman, years of trying to guess what Sam was thinking had made her more observant than most, and after watching Mac for ten minutes it became clear to her that the Beta and his imprint were connected far more deeply that the young wolf realised. Emily knew what it felt like to be influenced by emotions that were not her own, even now she could feel a weak twisting in her gut that was Sam's anger, this leech must've been faster than they had thought. Even when Sam's emotions were at their strongest, she only felt the smallest of ripples of that emotion. She'd talked about it with Kim as well and the younger woman had told her she experienced much the same thing from Jared- unexplained impulses in a certain direction, in his direction, the strongest emotions of her wolf passing through the imprint bond and into her.

But Emily could tell by watching Mac that she felt _more_. When Emily felt Sam's anger spike it caused a gentle burning in the pit of her stomach, she was irritated but it wasn't nearly as strong as Sam's anger was. Mac on the other hand was sitting on the couch, a scowl on her face and her fists clenched into balls at her side. She looked ready to rip some ones head off. Seth's anger was affecting her, making her angry and irritable as well. It got to the point where Mac actually had to leave the room, choosing instead to retreat to the back porch, pacing back and forth on the worn wood. Emily thought that Seth was going to have to tell her about the imprint soon, the poor girl must be confused as hell, it was a strange thing to feel someone else's emotions, to be upset without any reason why.

Emily wondered if maybe it was because of Seth's ranking in the pack, if that him being Beta somehow affected how strongly the two were connected and how much of Seth's emotions seeped through the imprint bond. She wasn't sure, but if that was the case then she wondered just how closely connected Jake would be to the girl he imprinted on, well, if he imprinted. The Alpha was not at all keen on that idea. As it has been said Emily was _very_ observant. It didn't escape her notice how the Alphas gaze often lingered on her cousin when the she-wolf wasn't watching, Jake may not be over Bella yet, but Emily knew that he liked Leah more than he was willing to admit. She wondered if Jake knew that Leah liked him too?

Mac could feel him before she saw him and she stopped pacing and lent against the railing as she waited impatiently for him to appear form the darkness. As she waited millions of thoughts rushed through her mind, was he ok? Was he hurt? Was Leah hurt? Did they get the vampire? Was it _the_ vampire? She was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't even notice Emily and Claire join her outside, she did however notice when a very tired looking Seth emerge from the trees, a frown on his face and only a pair of ripped denim shorts covering his massive frame.

She didn't run towards him like Emily did to Sam, and Claire did to Quil. Instead she hung back, watching him carefully as he approached her. Her eyes slid over his muscled torso as she checked him for any signs of damage, checking that he was in fact in one piece.

Seth gave her a wry smile as he climbed the steps of the back porch, running a tired hand through his messy hair. "You can stop worrying Mac", he told her quietly. "I'm fine, Leah's fine, every one's fine".

That was about when she launched herself at him, wrapping her arms securely around his neck and taking a shaky breathe against his chest, to say Seth was surprised was an understatement but he didn't hesitate when he wrapped his arms around her waist, hugging her to his chest while he thought about how small she felt against him.

"You worry too much Mac", the Beta told her softly, his arms tightening around her as she shook her head vigorously.

"I'm pretty sure that considering the circumstances, I worry just the right amount Seth", she told him, her voice muffled against his chest. _"What if you died?"_

"I'm fine Mac", he repeated, pulling back and tilting her face upwards gently with his hand so he could see her face, his thumb softly tracing along her jaw. "See, not a scratch on me", he told her with a reassuring smile.

He watched as her gaze flickered to his lips, her heart beat picking up pace as she leant towards him and brushed her lips softly over his. She was standing on her tippy toes and he was bending down slightly, trying to convince her that he was in fact, ok. Now she was kissing him and Seth was pretty sure that he was dreaming.

If her hugging him shocked him, then this bowled him over. He actually froze when her soft lips touched his and she pulled away a couple of seconds later. She took one look at Seth's shocked expression and jumped about three feet back from the frozen wolf.

"Oh shit", he heard her curse, "I'm sorry Seth... I'm going to leave now, to find a nice hole to crawl into and die of humiliation in... I really didn't mean to, sorry", she apologised again, turning to walk away just as Seth snapped out of his stupor and grabbed her hand softly and stopping her from leaving.

"Mac, you've really gotta stop apologising for stuff I _want_ you to do", Seth told his blushing imprint, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her to his chest.

"You wanted me to kiss you?" Mac asked, sounding completely shocked by the idea. "I didn't think you liked me like _that_", she told him quietly.

"_Really Mac?_ How could you _not_ know that I do?" Seth asked, kissing her gently on the forehead, a soft smile on his lips.

"Even I knew Sethy liked you", a smug looking four year old informed the now beat red Mac as she approached the house, her tiny hand enclosed in the much larger one of Quil's. She'd forgotten about everyone else as soon as Seth had appeared from the trees.

"He talks about you allllllllllll the time, Quily says that he dweams about you and cake and that Uncle Jake tells him off when he sleeps in. Uncle Embry says that he li-" The unimpressed look the little girl gave the older wolf as he covered her mouth with his hand, cutting of her rant and saving the pair from anymore humiliation was mildly terrifying. Mac was pretty sure that Quil cringed.

"Alright squirt," Quil told the little girl, chuckling and throwing her over his shoulder, causing her to burst out in a round of hysterics. "I believe it is time for you to go to bed".

"Buuuut Quil," She whined unhappily as Quil waved at the Beta and his imprint, heading towards the room upstairs where Claire always stayed when she came to La Push. "I haven't finished telling Mac how much Seth loved her yet!"

"I'll read you that book you love about the frog princess", Quil tempted the little girl, tickling her feet as he walked up the stairs. She giggled as her wolf tormented her feet, nodding enthusiastically.

Emily smiled at the pair as she walked inside, Sam's arm wrapped around her waist. The former Alpha gave Seth a sly smile and winked uncharacteristically at him as he and his imprint ducked inside, shutting the door gently behind him.

Seth wasted no time, as soon as the door clicked shut he smiled softly at Mac, tilting her head up and pressing his lips against hers. This time he didn't freeze. The kiss was soft and gentle and Seth loved the way her hands wound around his neck, pulling them closer. He loved the way her lips felt against his, and how small she felt in his arms.

Her face was flushed and she had a surprised look on her face when he pulled away, he would have much rather kissed his imprint all night but unfortunately he had patrol and Leah would only cover for him for so long before she hunted him down and dragged him out there. Seth smiled at her and pecked her one more time on the lips before pulling away for good.

"I definitely don't mind when you kiss me", he told her huskily as her she blushed, resting her head in his shoulder.

He glanced towards the forest as a single howl pierced the nights silence and she shot him a worried look, her hands gripping his arm tighter.

"It's fine Mac", he assured her softly, bending slightly and scooping her up into his arms, smiling when she squealed in shock. "It's just Leah telling me to hurry up and get you home. I'm supposed to be patrolling but we figured I should take you home first. She's just pissy coz she's missing out on her beauty sleep", he explained as he started jogging in the direction of Mac's house.

"_Wait, you're going back out there?_ What happened to the vampire did you kill it?" She asked, her voice rising as she wrapped her arms around his neck to steady herself. "Was it... _Was it him_?" She asked quietly, noticing the way Seth's body stiffened uncomfortably.

"Yes I'm going back out there, I have patrol. No, it got away", he told her through gritted teeth, "It wasn't him, Mac. If he ever shows his face around here again, I'm going to _destroy_ him".

Mac frowned, pulling Seth's hair roughly and glaring at him, "I don't want you _anywhere_ near him Seth Clearwater. He's dangerous", she told him heatedly. He shot her a curious look, which she avoided.

"So am I, remember." He told her his tone somewhat sad as he thought back to her comment this morning.

Mac growled at him, wriggling in his arms, "Not compared to him Seth. He's evil, _he'll kill you_", she cried angrily.

"Have a little faith in me Mac, I can handle him, I _will_ handle him. So stop worrying", he said, his voice low and leaving no room for augment.

The rest of the trip back to Mac's house was spent in silence, her fuming in his arms as he ran with a dark look on his face, brought on by the topic of the leech hunting his imprint. He placed her gently on her front step, "get some sleep Mac", he told her gruffly as she unlocked the door.

She gave him a shy look blushing as she asked him when she would see him next, he smiled and told her that he would come over as soon as he was done with patrol, gave her a quick hag, then disappeared into the darkness for the second time that night.

Mac closed the door behind her, locking it before walking slowly to her bedroom and collapsing onto her bed, it had been a long day, and she was tired and confused. What the hell had happened today? She buried her head into her pillow and screamed in frustration, Seth liked her and she liked him, so what did this make them? And how would Leah and Sue react?

All of the possibilities were still running through her mind when Seth climbed through her window a few hours later and kneeled uncertainly on the bed beside her. "I thought I told you to get some sleep Mac", he told her, smiling when she rolled over and scowled at him.

"Maybe I wasn't tired Clearwater", she snapped, cursing before burying her face in her pillow and yawning, causing Seth to chuckle softly.

"Not tired huh?" He smiled, his eyes sparkling in amusement. "Want me to stay?" he asked her hesitantly.

"Only if you want to", she said, rolling back over and snuggling in her covers. This time when she closed her eyes they stayed closed. Seth didn't answer her question, but he climbed onto the bed beside her, he thought that the answer was pretty self explanatory, he was here wasn't he? And so Seth smiled and hugged his imprint to his chest as she started to breathe deeply signalling to him that she was already asleep. He thought that it was very sweet of her to stay up for him when she was so obviously exhausted. She really did worry too much.

* * *

_Thank you for reading, I hope it was ok =D_


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 12**

_I suck, I know... I am really sorry about how extremely late this chapter is. I haven't given up on this fic, I plan to finish this but life's been a bit crazy lately and I have been suffering from some insane writers block. Thank you for being so patient and an extra big thank you to those of you who reviewed my last chapter,__Elvira Iula, ThisIsYourWaffleSpeaking, mel(dot)wolfgirl, kierra, BB-waters, hgmsnoopy, JellyBeane, brandibuckeye and laurazuleta__, you guys rule =D_

_SM owns Twilight, obviously, I just own my OC's =)_

* * *

Tony wasn't a morning person, he was pissed off at the best of times, but when he'd been rudely awoken before eight in the morning he was even more irritable than usual.

"Tony, I've got a job for you", came the gravelly voice from, worn from years of yelling and smoking to many cigarettes, from the other end of the line.

If it had been anyone else calling him at this time of the day he'd have told them to fuck off, well actually that was a lie, if it had been anyone else calling he wouldn't have even answered his damn phone. No matter the time of day he never ignored a call from the man on the other end of the phone, not if he wanted to live longer than a week anyway. Tony was a dangerous man, a hardened man, but even he was a little scared of his employer, Gabe wasn't the sort of man you ignored.

"What sort of job?" He asked, his tone slightly pissed off as he sat up in his bed, using one hand to rub his eyes free of sleep. Deadly or not, it was _six o'clock in the fucking morning._

"I have a very important friend who needs a job done, it's dangerous, but he's got _a lot_ of money and he's willing to pay", the voice told him, sounding somewhat excited. "You're the best I've got, I want you in on this Tony".

Tony thought that was fucking typical, all Gabe ever thought about was money. "Yeah that's brilliant Gabe, but what the hell is this job?" he asked again, gritting his teeth in annoyance as the man on the other end of the phone hummed thoughtfully, his tone deceivingly light considering what he was about to ask.

"My guy needs something picked up for him and you're the only guy I could think of for a job like this. The package is somewhat heavily guarded but he'll handle that. Your jobs easier, you're in and out before anyone even realises you've been there", the voice explained lowly.

"Something huh?... Is it a what or a who Gabe?" he asked curiously, not that it really mattered to him, he'd do the job regardless, he wasn't about to turn down the promise of money.

"What does it matter?" he snapped, making Tony wince. Gabe wasn't a fun man to be around when he was pissed off, it didn't happen often, but when it did it wasn't a pretty sight. "You in or out?"

"That depends, how much we're talking?" Tony asked, running a tired hand through his short blonde hair.

The other man chuckled darkly on the other end of the line, "enough, he must really want this package".

"Well then", Tony smiled a crooked smile, he never had been one to turn down easy money, "just name the time and place, I'm in".

Unfortunately for Tony, his newest job was going to be a lot more of a hassle than he could have ever imagined. Nothing was ever as easy as it seemed.

* * *

When Mac had rolled over that morning and found that Seth had already left for school she was slightly embarrassed about how disappointed she was. She'd only seen him a couple of hours ago, so it was completely ridiculous that she missed him already.

Once she was awake she just hadn't been able to drift back off to sleep, and so here she was going for a run at nine in the morning along the cracked pavements of the tiny coast side town.

She was pretending not to notice the young Quileute man jogging casually along a few yards behind her. She'd figured that Seth was going to watch her pretty closely after her little incident the other night, but she thought that 24 hour surveillance was over doing it just a little bit. Mac didn't know what she and Seth were, he was an overprotective idiot who turned into a giant wolf, but she knew that she liked him and she liked whatever they were.

She also knew Leah wasn't going to feel the same, which is why she was planning on avoiding her best friend like the plague for a few days, just until she'd calmed down enough that she wouldn't rip her head off on sight. As Mac ran she thought, she tried to stay positive, but after a few blocks her thoughts were becoming increasingly dark. She thought about vampires, mostly one vampire in particular. She thought about where he might be, what he might be doing, what he might be planning... She shuddered and slowed her run into a brisk walk, her not so stealthy protector did the same.

She walked most of the way home, not really in the mood for running anymore, and it was in this time that she received her first worried text message from Seth. It had made her smile and she internally chastised herself for letting herself get so excited over something so little and insignificant. She did text him back though, telling him that she was sure there were no cell phones allowed in class and that he should try listening to what his teachers were saying for a change.

Mac had never really been much of an athlete, and so her run/walk didn't really last that long. When she arrived home she was absolutely starving. That was probably because she'd forgotten to have breakfast before she'd gone on her fairly unsuccessful run, so, it was completely understandable that when she opened her breakfast cupboard, sweaty and hungry, and there was no cereal in sight she had a bit of a mental breakdown. Words were yelled, and a plate may have been broken and when she span angrily around and sighted a smug looking Leah lying on her couch munching an what was possibly a entire box of lucky charms and a gallon of milk in one of Mac's only mixing bowls, Mac just about had a heart attack.

"_Holy fucking shit_", Mac yelled, stumbling backwards and landing with a thud on the floor, causing Leah to laugh and spray milk out of her nose.

Mac glared at the milk covered, still chuckling she wolf, "_What the fuck Leah?" _She growled, standing carefully off the ground and rubbing her rear end gently. Just what she needed, another bruise, "how'd you even get in here?"

"The window", Leah replied easily, still smirking at her friend as she walked into the kitchen, her mixing bowl cradled close to her chest, in search of a towel to clean up the nose milk that currently covered her torn t-shirt and the corner of Mac's couch.

"Oh..._Hey_, is that my cereal Clearwater?" Mac asked her voice dangerously low, only now noticing the giant bowl of cereal Leah was feasting on.

"Huh?" Leah asked, glancing up from her mess at her silently fuming friend. "Ohhhh your cereal, yeah I was hungry, figured you wouldn't mind", she told her happily, settling back onto the couch and spooning another spoonful of _Mac's_ cereal into her mouth.

"Damn it Leah", Mac growled tiredly. "What the fuck am I supposed to eat for breakfast?"

Leah shrugged easily giving her friend an easy smile around her latest mouthful. "You have bread, make some toast", Leah told her, chuckling softly when Mac glared at her and stormed over to the small cupboard where she kept her breakfast supplies, which had been seriously depleted by Leah's little visits over the last few weeks.

Mac decided that this had to be one of the biggest down side to being friends with a bunch of shape shifters, they ate every scrap of food that they could get their hands on, Mac often referred fondly, and sometimes not so fondly, to the siblings as her personal garbage disposal units.

Mac sighed as she pushed the little leaver down on her toaster and wondered over to the cupboard in search of something to put on her toast, a something that hopefully contained a lot of sugar. Unfortunately for her that cupboard had been raided as well and she had to make do with peanut butter. Mac was not really a peanut butter fan and so she glared angrily at the smirking she-wolf as she violently decapitated her toast, causing the she wolf's grin to grow.

"Sooo, got any plans today Mac?" Leah asked casually around the mouthful Mac's cereal.

Mac sighed, deciding that cereal theft was probably not a good enough reason to murder her best friend and that maybe eating and entire batch of Sues muffins before Leah could would be more appropriate. "Nothing really. Why, what'd you have in mind?" She asked carefully, her eyes narrowing at the mischievous smile that flashed across the older girls face.

"Well, in that case I'm in", Mac drawled lazily, smiling as Leah tipped back her mixing bowl and drained the last of the milk and cereal bits. Mac chose not to tell the she wolf about the lovely milk moustache she was now sporting. "I know that look, and it's _always_ followed by something amusing".

Leah smirked at the dark headed girl, who was now staring blandly at her last slice of peanut better toast, a mix of disgust and anger plastered on her face.

"So what does this secret activity, that will no doubt get me in enormous amounts of trouble, involve?" Mac asked as she dumped the last piece of her toast in the bin, choosing to starve rather than suffer through another mouthful of the disgusting stuff smothering her toast.

"Who", Leah corrected, waggling her eyebrow at her now grinning friend.

Mac snorted, and plopped down noisily on the couch, watching her friend expectantly. "And which who are we speaking of this time?"

"A certain Alpha who thought it'd be funny to steal my last piece of cake. I had been saving that all friggen day, for when I finished patrol. Said Alpha then had the audacity to deny stealing my cake, even though he still had crumbs all over his damn shirt... bastard", Leah grumbled darkly. "No one takes my cake, Alpha or friggen not".

Mac grinned at Leah's annoyance, sometimes she found it funny how easy it was to piss her closest friend off. "So, what's the plan then?" she asked, cracking her knuckles and giving her friend an expectant look.

The look that crossed Leah's face actually scared Mac a little, but not nearly as much as the tone she used to describe, in great detail, her plan. It was daring, simple, and more than a little bit evil, and Mac wondered if this would be the end of La Push's strongest wolf.

* * *

This was a conversation that Mac hadn't been looking forward to she'd been dreading it actually.

"Mac, what happened?" Leah asked, carefully as she stared at the scar on Mac's forearm. She'd noticed it as Mac had rolled her sleeve up, to start making the cookie dough, after she'd grilled her about the hand marks on her arms. It was safe to assume that Trey Carter would regret ever laying his hands on her.

"This scar?" Mac asked as she shifted uncomfortably and trailed a hand slowly over the distinct mark above her elbow. "I broke my arm about a year ago", she told her, hoping that would be enough for the she wolf, who'd mixed the dough and was working on rolling them into cookie-ish shapes.

"How?" Leah asked, her eyes not missing Mac's nervous shifting at her questioning.

"I fell", she said slowly, unsure how much she should reveal to her best friend, "through a glass door... and landed on my arm".

Leah stopped working the cookie dough and gave Mac a curious look, "I knew you were clumsy, but how the _hell_ did you manage that?"

Mac cursed internally, she knew she was going to have to tell people about her past soon, but sometimes it was easier not to talk about it, then she could pretend that it had never really happened. "Ok, so I didn't fall exactly... It was more like I was thrown through the glass door, I have a few others", she told Leah awkwardly pointing to a few lighter, much less obvious scars on her arm. Most of the scars Mac had had faded quickly, hardly noticeable to normal people with normal vision, but to the wolves (and vampires) they were much more visible, it was why Mac choose to wear clothes that covered her arms, which along with her stomach, were the worst affected areas on her body.

"_**THROWN?"**_ Leah growled loudly, "who the hell _threw_ you through a fucking window Mac?"

"Do you really need to ask that Leah?" She asked quietly, slowly rolling the sleeves of her sweat shirt back down.

"That leech did this to you?" she questioned lowly, her hands shaking slightly at the thought of a leech hurting her best friend. "When?"

Mac sighed, putting their attempt at cookies into the oven before heading over to the couch and collapsing onto the soft cushions, "About a year ago", she told her, her voice quiet as she remembered back to the night she got the multiple scars that covered her.

Leah ran her hand through her short hair and followed Mac into the small living room, sitting down on the chair closest to the door and furthest away from Mac. "You're my best friend Mac and I don't know a thing about you before you came here. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but I want to know what happened to you before you came here..." she trailed off, unsure of how to continue.

Mac sighed tiredly, she'd thought about telling the Clearwater's about her past lately, but she was scared. She was scared of what they would think and what they would do. "The night I got this scar, was the night I met Annabeth and Oscar the first time. It was the night they saved my life... I'm not sure what really happened, until recently I couldn't remember anything at all about that night..." She started reluctantly, "but since I've been here bits and pieces have been coming back to me".

"The nightmares?" Leah questioned quietly, watching her friends slightly pained looking face.

"Yeah, I've been having them since it happened, but I'd always forget what they were about, until I came here... Then I started to be able to remember them. I wish I hadn't", she said, her voice barely a whisper.

"I remember the start of the night clearly enough, my parents had taken my younger brother and sister out for tea to celebrate my sisters five billionth A friggen plus, I didn't really want to go so I stayed at home. I invited a few friends over and one thing lead to the next you know? By the time my parents go home shit was well and truly out of hand... They were _very_ unimpressed", Mac told Leah with a quiet chuckle. "My dad kicked everyone out, yelled at me a little, uh well a lot actually, and he sent me to my room. I went to sleep pretty fast, being as drunk as I was. I wasn't asleep very long when the screaming started..." Out of all of the memories Mac had from that night, the sound of the screaming was the worst.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to Mac", Leah said quietly as she watched her friend stand trembling from the couch and start pacing around the small living room. She sighed as her friend shot her a determined look even though Leah was pretty sure she was on the verge of tears.

"I've told you half the story, might as well finish it off", she told her shakily, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hands. "Don't tell Seth though, don't think about it when you're both patrolling, I might tell him one day but not right now..."

Leah frowned but nodded, glancing down at her beat up cell phone beside her as it started vibrating. She didn't even have to look at the number flashing across the screen to know who was calling. "Speak of the devil huh?" she muttered before picking the phone off the couch and answering it, her tone bored and a little annoyed, "She's fine Seth, stop being such a friggen worry wart... No... None of your business little brother, where having girly time or whatever and you have school, if you skip again Mom's gunna kill you... If you stop calling I'll let you talk to her. Fine..."

"Mac, Seth wants to talk to you", Leah said drolly handing the still pacing girl the phone.

Mac gave Leah a surprised look and took the phone cautiously from the older girl before raising it to her ear, "Hello..."

"You alright Mac?" came Seth's worried voice from the other end of the line. Mac frowned, thinking that it seemed weird how he always seemed to know when she was upset. Her second thought was that he was supposed to be in school, preferably learning something. Sue would kill him if she knew that Seth was sneaking out of class to ring her.

"I'm fine, Seth", she told him in a voice that sounded pretty damn convincing to her, the silence on the other end of the line begged to differ. "Stop being a friggen worry wart. What made you think there was something wrong with me in the first place?" She asked, her eyebrow raised questioningly, even though he couldn't see it.

Mac took note of the uncomfortable silence before Seth spluttered out some answer about him just checking in on her.

"Well, checking up on me was a massive waste of your learning time Seth Clearwater, I'm fine, so get your over worrying ass back to class and learn something, ok?" She told him, smiling at the slightly offended noise that he made at the comment about him over worrying.

"But its sooooooooooooo boring Mac", he whined sadly, his voice echoing in a way that signalled to Mac that he was probably hiding out in one of La Push highs bathrooms. "When the hell am I ever going to find a use for trigonometry? When would that shit come in handy? I would much rather spend my assigned trigonometry learning time hiding the bathroom and talking to you", he finished with a huff sounding not unlike an unhappy child.

"I know I'm awesome and all Seth, but you should take you're education more seriously... If you don't, I'll tell your Mom", Mac threatened.

"What? You wouldn't..." he challenged, his voice not sounding anywhere near as confident as he would have hoped.

"Oh I would and you know it", Mac told him lowly. "Now get your over protective self back to class ok?" she told him her voice softening at the resigned sigh that she could hear escape him. "I'll see you when you get back from school".

"That a promise?" he asked, his voice lowering sexily, making her shiver and Leah roll her eyes and nail Mac in the head with a pillow.

"Well, yeah, if I'm not busy. I'm a very busy lady Seth but I reckon I can fit you into my afternoon plans somewhere", she told him seriously once she had recovered from what she thought was a rather unnecessary pillow to the head.

He laughed at that, "I'll see you soon then", he told her his voice soft but still tinged with worry.

"Have fun", she chirped cheekily, listening to him grumble a bit before ending the call and throwing the beat up cell phone back to Leah.

Mac was slightly embarrassed about the fact that even talking to Seth seemed to calm her down, even if it was only a little.

"You don't have to finish Mac..."Leah said quietly, watching as Mac's face once again became torn and pained.

Mac shrugged and glanced at the phone again, "just don't tell Seth..."

"I won't", Leah promised, watching her friend quietly.

"I ran down the stairs, all I could hear was my Mom... _Fuck Leah_, I can't get the noise of her screaming out of my head..." Mac choked out, her hands shaking, the comfort gained from talking to Seth gone.

"After I came down the stairs, there's a big blank spot. I can't remember seeing anyone else, I don't even know what happened to them Leah. There was so much blood... I don't know if anyone could have survived that..." she choked out, slumping down on the couch. "I just remember being so fucking scared... I knew I was going to die. His eyes were blood red and no matter how loud I screamed no one came. There was no one. Just me and him... I knew he wasn't human. You could just tell, they way he walked, his voice, his eyes... his smile. Something was just so wrong about him..."

Leah nodded in agreement, no matter how hard they tried vampires always stood out.

"I tried to fight him but he was way too strong, and he was so cold. Then he..." she paused, looking slightly pale before continuing in a shaky voice. "He said something about how I smelt delicious, which made me scream even louder because I really didn't want to die... _Fuck_. I was just so damn scared Leah..."

Leah would have given Mac a hug, something to show her how sorry she was that Mac had to go through that, as her friend paused her story and ran a trembling hand through her hair but she was too busy trying to control her trembling and the feeling of disgust that was bubbling in the pit of her stomach. Knowing that a leech had been that close to her best friend, to one of the packs imprints, her brothers imprint, it made her want to rip someone's head off, that someone being a certain elusive vampire.

"Annabeth and Oscar must have arrived then, someone tackled him, which sent me flying through the glass doors. That's how I got the scars..." she informed the horrified looking she wolf, pointing the scar on her arm from where her bone had come up through the skin when she'd hit the grass and then rolling up her t-shirt, revealing the jagged pink scar that ran from her belly button to her hip. She trailed her fingers softly along the pink mark, shrugging and rolling her shirt back down as Leah growled lowly and stood up off her seat, positioning herself on the far side of the room, near the door, because she wasn't sure how much more of this story she could listen to without exploding into her furry other half.

"Next thing I wake up in hospital, where I met Annabeth and Oscar, they convinced me to leave with them. That'd it'd be safer for everyone around me if I stayed away until they'd caught him, I was scared and confused but they explained to me how much danger my friends... and whatever family I have left would be in if I stayed... I've been with them ever since", Mac finished simply, ignoring the tears that had started streaming down her cheeks. She abruptly and walked quickly into the kitchen where she searched through the cupboards until she found herself some much needed sugar.

"So now you know what happened. Kind of, not even I can remember exactly what happened", she said with a sigh, munching on the bag of peanut M&Ms she'd discovered at the very back of the cupboard. She was still trembling a little and she couldn't get the image of his blood red eyes and haunting smile out of her mind, but she was sure that the chocolate was making her feel just a little bit better.

Leah was standing in the corner, trying to stop her shaking hands after hearing when the horror story her best friend had lived through, when she smelt something she should have noticed sooner. Smoke. With a curse she sprinted past Mac, who'd regained a bit of her composure with the help of chocolate, and over to the oven, where the smoke had just started to leak out of the oven door.

Mac and Leah had stood staring at the smoking cookies of doom for a couple of minutes in silence before Mac smiled, and stated that these were sure to make Jake regret eating Leah's muffins. Leah had chuckled and given Mac a quick one armed hug, ruffling her hair fondly and telling her she'd see her at dinner time before leaving for patrol.

Instead of cleaning up the disaster zone that was now her kitchen Mac wondered slowly to her room, the bag of peanut M&Ms clutched in one hand. She was sure she'd feel a little bit better after she'd finished off the bag of chocolate and had a quick nap.

She was wrong. Instead all that achieved was another nightmare and a near frantic phone call from Seth.

It was after that little incident that Mac decided she needed to confront Seth about the fact he could always tell when she was upset, when something was wrong. The rest of her day was spent planning a way for her to broach the subject.

* * *

As soon as the school bell rang Seth didn't waste any time in grabbing his latest load of homework and getting the hell out of the stinky, cramped building he was forced to spend way to many hours a day in, listening to boring teachers drone on and on about shit he didn't even care about. Shit that he was sure would never, ever come in handy for him, _hell for anyone_, once he'd left school.

Seth was always glad to get out of school, but today he was even more eager than usual. Today he was going to ask Mac to be his girlfriend, and he was nervous as hell. He was nervous for two reasons, first of all he was never sure what Mac was going to do, he knew she liked him, knew she wanted him, but that didn't mean she'd want to be his girlfriend, Mac was hard to predict at the best of times, so asking the girl out, his imprint, was a little off putting. The second reason was because Leah was going to be pissed. He'd thought about telling her before Mac because he knew how close the two were but then he'd realised that it shouldn't matter.

He shouldn't have to ask his sisters permission to ask out his imprint. The girl he was destined to be with, that his wolf had chosen for him. Leah would just have to get used to it because if he had his way he and his imprint were going to be together for the rest of their lives.

It wasn't long after all but sprinting down the cracked pavements of La Push that Seth arrived at Mac's front door. He was fidgeting a little more than usual, his smile was a little more nervous, his hands were a little sweatier and he may or may not have been absolutely freaking out on the inside.

_What the hell was he going to if she rejected him? _

Man... Seth paused, his hand hovering over the door knob as he imagined his imprint rejecting him, for the hundredth time that day, and cringed, mentally yelling at his hand to start working again and open the friggen door.

His hand was still hovering over the door handle, when the door flew open causing him to release a girly and very familiar squeal.

Seth, who'd been completely focused on trying to force his hand into working hadn't been paying attention to what Mac was doing, and hadn't heard her reach for the door.

So the surprised Beta ended up stumbling backwards, tripping and landing on his butt, staring up at a very bewildered and slightly amused Mac.

"I heard that", she chirped, grinning cheekily at the Beta as he him blushed and ducked his head.

"You heard nothing..." he told the giggling young woman uncomfortably, smiling and standing up off the damp ground.

She gave him a gentle pat on the shoulder as she turned and walked back into her house, "Keep telling yourself that Clearwater", she snickered, giving the grumbling wolf an evil looking smirk.

"You're so mean to me", Seth pouted, following the smirking imprint back into the house. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the state of her small kitchen, to say it was a mess was a severe understatement. There was flour everywhere, including all over Mac. It was on the walls, the small bench, the floor... the room looked like it had been hit by a tornado. And the smell...

Seth wrinkled his nose, and gave the floury Mac a worried look. "What the hell happened in here?" he asked slowly, leaning over and wiping a small patch of flour off Macs nose.

She grinned at him happily, looking slightly embarrassed as she surveyed her handy work. "I was baking with Leah..." she told him, flushing slightly as the grinning Seth moved his hand from her nose to her cheek, removing even more flour as he went. Just how she managed to make this much mess was beyond him, he was actually kind of impressed.

"You don't bake Mac... And Leah sure as hell doesn't bake, you both hate cooking..." he trailed off, glancing worriedly towards the container that he was sure enclosed the product of Mac's efforts. Whatever was in there sure didn't smell like any cookies he'd ever smelt. They smelt... wrong... So, so wrong.

She gave the Beta a sly smile, opening the container and removing one of the dark, hockey puck shaped disc from inside. "I made them for the almighty Alpha", she explained, gingerly sniffing the "cookie", "he ate all of Leah's the other day and so, realising that he was starving I took it upon myself to bake him his own cookies, so he won't have to steal Leah's and risk death possible death or disfigurement more just because he was hungry".

"Ahhh Mac..." Seth started carefully, unsure of how to tell his imprint that her cookies smelt potentially lethal. "They're kinda... ah... burnt..." he trailed off, cringing at the "go die" look he was now receiving from the flour covered young woman.

"They're _not_ burnt Seth", Mac growled, clutching the container protectively to her chest. "They're just a little bit crispy, that's all".

Seth sighed, feeling more than a little sorry for his alpha in this moment, and patted Mac fondly on the head. "Crispy it is", he allowed with a smile, they were her first batch of cookies after all, and Seth thought it was awfully nice of her to spend so much time making something for the supposedly starving Jake. He was pretty sure that the Alpha was about to learn his lesson for stealing Leah's cookies.

"Can we take them over on the way to your house for dinner?" Mac asked hopefully, flashing Seth her best puppy dog eyes.

"Yeah, of course we can", He told her, chuckling and wrapping his arms around her waist, giving her a quick kiss on top of her head. "Jake will be thrilled".

"He better be", she growled lowly, "took me half of the frigging day to make these babies".

"How was school?" Mac asked him, leaning back slightly so her head was resting on Seth chest, causing him to rumble in approval and his grip to tighten slightly on her waist.

"Awful", he told her with a pout and a dramatic sigh. "It was noisy, boring and Mrs Johnston told me off for eating in class! I'm a growing, shape shifting, teenage boy and I was hungry, I really think she should try be a tad more understanding".

Mac snickered quietly, muttering something about the fact that Seth was always hungry. _Always_. And that maybe he should have been sneakier in consuming food in class, he'd told her many times of his ninja like stealth abilities. Maybe it was time he put these into practice?

"Are you insinuating that I am in fact, not ninja like at all?" asked her, his tone offended.

"I'm simply stating that in the time I've known you I have yet to see these so called ninja stealth abilities", she told him with a shrug.

"Maybe I just don't want to scare you with my awesomeness", he told her, grinning at the disbelieving noise she made at that statement. "You're really starting to hurt my pride Mac", he told her, leaning over her and placing a soft kiss on her cheek.

She smiled, leaning closer to him, allowing him to place another soft kiss closer to her lips, "you're a big boy Seth, I'm sure you'll get over it", she told him cheekily.

He growled playfully at her, spinning her in his arms so she was facing him. He gave her and evil grin as one of his arms trailed down her delicate sides, causing her smile to be replaced with a look of absolute horror.

"Don't you dare Seth Clearwater", she growled, attempting to escape the steely hold his remaining hand had on her waist. "I swear to God Seth..."

"Lighten up Mac", the Beta chuckled, placing his hand on the small of her back, feeling her relax as he did. Mac was possibly the most ticklish person he had ever met and he was constantly taking advantage of this fact. "So, how was your day?" he asked softly, his fingers tracing little patterns on her back that made her smile and blush lightly.

"It was pretty good", she told him, avoiding his gaze as he smirked at her colouring cheeks. "Leah came over, ate my cereal, ranted about Jake eating her cookies, so we decided I should bake him some cookies, so he won't have to steal hers. And that's pretty much what I've been doing for the whole day".

"Sounds better than school", he laughed, glancing nervously at the container whose contents may in fact be the death of his Alpha.

"Most things are better than school", she told her, stepping forward and resting her fore head on his chest.

"You know what's significantly better than school?" He asked her, his expression slightly nervous.

"What?" Mac asked suspiciously, her voice muffled by Seth's chest.

"Getting to come back here and see you", he told her, noting the way her heart sped up as he did.

"Really?" she asked, not looking up from Seth's chest, her tone more than a little sceptical.

"Ah, yeah", he laughed matter of factly. "So much better..."

"Good answer", she chuckled, glancing up at him carefully.

He smiled at her softly as he tilted her head back with his hand, placing sloppy kisses on her cheeks, forehead and nose before meeting her awaiting lips with his.

It was in this moment that Seth Clearwater decided that kissing his imprint was possibly his favourite thing in the world. He probably could have continued kissing her for the rest of the day, hell, he wouldn't have minded kissing her for the rest of his damn life, but as there kiss became increasingly passionate, her tongue sliding against his, his breath growing more ragged by the second and her legs wrapping securely around his waist as he hoisted her up so he could reach her more easily, he remembered that he actually came here with a purpose, and as much as he was enjoying this, and he was really enjoying this, kissing Mac senseless wasn't it. They could continue this after she'd agreed to be his girlfriend. If she agreed to be his girlfriend... hell, now he was nervous again.

Mac could sense Seth's change in mood, and she pulled away, giving him a nervous look. "I'm sorry", she said quietly, untangling herself from the panting Seth and straighten her clothing hurriedly. "I got a little carried away".

Seth chuckled huskily, "Mac, stop damn apologising. You can get carried away like that whenever you want, as much as you want".

"Then what's wrong?" she asked him, blushing at his comment and the wicked grin that accompanied it.

The smile on Seth's face was replaced by a slightly scared and very anxious expression. "Nothing's wrong..." he told her, ignoring the disbelieving look she shot him. "I just... well, I came over here to ask you something..."

"_And that something is?..."_ Mac asked, her expression nervous.

"I want you to be my girl Mac. Will you be my girlfriend?" He asked, his tone firm and strong as he evaluated Mac's expression carefully.

"_Me?"_ Mac asked, her expression shocked, "you want me to be your girlfriend?"

"Ummm, yes" he said, slightly confused. "You're the only other person here Mac".

"Are you sure Seth?" She asked, watching him carefully for any sign he may be coming to his senses. "I'm like... weird, crazy, _completely fucking bonkers_, I've accepted this fact long ago but are you sure you want me to be your girlfriend?"

Seth gave her an exasperated look, sighing and running his hand through his short hair. "Mac, have you met my friends? My family? _Me?_ I can handle weird, I think I prefer it actually. So can you stop selling yourself short and answer my question, please? I'm starting to get a little worried". That was an understatement, he was freaking out internally.

Mac glanced down at the floor, wringing her hands nervously as she debated her answer. She wanted to say yes, but she was worried. She was worried about having to leave one day and hurting him. And about how much harder leaving him would be when her feelings were growing for the goofy, kind, incredibly handsome Beta everyday she spent with him. She was worried about hurting him, hurting her and about what Leah and Sue would say, but as he shifted nervously, his heart in his eyes, she knew that she really wanted to be with him. To hell with later, with the future, with what everyone else thought. She was here now, with him, and she wanted to be his girlfriend. Right now nothing would make her happier. Except maybe the death of a certain vampire.

"Well, don't say I didn't warn you Clearwater", she told him, smiling at the shocked expression that crossed his face.

"Is that a yes?" He asked, the shadow of a smile making its way into his face.

"That's a yes".

He moved so quick that she barely had any time to let out a squeal of shock as he swept her up in his arms, showering her face and neck with sloppy wet kisses.

"_Ew Seth"_, Mac growled despite her smile. "Stop friggen slobbering all over my face. It's nasty and I don't want to catch rabies or some shit".

"_Oh ha ha, you're so funny"_, he grumbled sarcastically, kissing her gently on the lips one more time for good measure.

She shrugged dismissively, wriggling in Seth's arms as she made herself more comfortable against his chest, "just because you're my boyfriend doesn't mean I'm going to be nice to you Seth".

Seth smiled, settling on the small couch in Macs living room, "I wouldn't expect any less", he told her truthfully.

"Soooo..." Mac started her face completely serious. "Are you cool with me having more than one boyfriend? Or am I going to have to break up with the other guy I've been seeing while you were at school?"

Seth spluttered a little, regaining his composure before giving his imprint a not often seen glare, "_So, so funny Mac..._ You should probably consider becoming a comedian", he told her, ninety five percent sure that she was in fact joking.

"Damn, you're not cool with it?" Mac sighed sadly. "Jake's gunna be really cut up about this, I think he was just starting to get serious. I did tell him though, I said Jacob Black, don't you go getting any ideas about us, I'm in this purely for your hunky figure and nifty Alpha powers. But he just had to go and get all Mac's so awesome I can't let her be with my Bet-"...

Seth smiled as Mac glared at him, her rant cut short by the hand that was now covering her mouth. "Maybe Jake doesn't deserve those cookies after all", Seth said thoughtfully. "I mean some best friend, trying to steal my girl... Plus, I'm hunkier and I have super cool Beta/ninja abilities", he finished certainly, ignoring Mac's eye roll and muffled snort of amusement at his insistence about his stealth skills.

"Mhhhphhh..."

"What was that Mac?" Seth asked, smiling easily at his glaring imprint who was still leaning against his warm chest.

"_Hmmmphhh Nmmm?"_

"Seriously Mac, you need to speak up", Seth told her, his face completely serious. "I can't understand a word your- _Ew_ _Mac! Did you just lick me?" _He asked, his expression mildly disgusted as he wiped the Mac slobber from his hand and onto her t-shirt.

"Yes. Yes I did, serves your stupid ass right for trying to silence me", she told him happily, "Jake would never have done that to me, he's too much of a gentleman for such acts".

Seth snorted loudly, shaking his head and giving _his girlfriend_ an unimpressed look. It was after her last comment that he decided that tickling Mac was an appropriate form of punishment, but after five minutes and her nearly wetting her pants he relented his attack. He supposed it was nearly dinner time, and his Mom _hated_ it when they were late for dinner.

He could tell Mac was more nervous than usual about seeing his Mom and sister, he was too. He really hoped Leah wouldn't be to upset about him asking Mac out.

She knew it was bound to happen sooner or later, she was just hoping for later.

* * *

_Once again, I'm so sorry for taking so long to update, even after all that time I'm still not very happy with this chapter but I hope you enjoyed it. I promise to try crank out the next chapter a bit faster =)_

_Thank you for reading =D_


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 13**

_Once again I'm very sorry for how long this has taken, especially considering how short this chapter is! Thank you so much for reading my fic, and special thanks to those of you who reviewed,__Elvira Iula, BB-Waters, laurazuleta18, brandibuckeye, kieraa, skyfulloflighters0000, SundaySolis, AylaBear23, and The all mighty and powerfulM. Your reviews are much appreciated, I love getting feedback about how I'm going :D_

_Disclaimer: I only own my own characters!_

* * *

Dinner that night was an awkward affair, between Sue's mooning and Leah's glaring Mac wasn't sure quite what to do.

Seth had pretty much announced the fact that she was now his girlfriend to his mother and sister as soon as he had entered the house, much to her horror. Thankfully for Mac ninety percent of Leah's glaring was directed at Seth, not at her.

The ten percent of anger that was left was scary enough, even the occasional glare from Leah was one glare to many. Sue wasn't making the occasion any less awkward either, her constant smiling, questions and happy sighs only serving to irritate Leah even more. On a brighter note Sue's meat loaf was really good tonight.

After the meatloaf had been completely destroyed by Leah and Seth, with a little help from Mac and Sue, Leah gave Seth a meaning full look, nodding towards the back door angrily. Seth sighed mournfully, kissing Mac on the head as he walked past her seat at the table.

"Stay here", he told her firmly, following the disgruntled she wolf out the door and into the forest behind the Clearwater's house.

"Don't worry dear", Sue told Mac gently as she busied herself clearing the table. "There just going to talk".

Mac gave Sue a sceptical look before heading towards the window and trying to sight the siblings in the darkness. She decided that now would be one of the times when being a wolf would come in handy. "Then why are they going outside?" She asked, sighing and leaving her position at the window to help Sue with the dishes.

"It's just a precaution", she explained, "Leah, and sometimes Seth, has the tendency to get... fired up. And it's safer for my household if they talk outside about matters they are passionate about".

Mac nodded, not really feeling all that reassured about the sibling showdown that may or may not have been happening in the trees at this very moment. She could feel Seth getting angry, and as his anger grew, so did Mac's anxiousness. She tried to go out there once, to stop the fight that was possibly occurring, but Sue had stopped her, giving her a stern look and banishing her to the living room with a bowl of ice-cream to distract her.

It might have worked to, but it was hard forget about what was happening outside when she could feel Seth's emotions yo-yoing in the pit of her stomach. So Mac sat cross legged on the Clearwater's sofa, spooning the occasional scoop of the slightly melted chocolate ice-cream into her mouth while concentrating as hard as she could on Seth's fluctuating anger, because if he was angry, that meant Leah hadn't killed him yet.

_Half an hour_. That's how long Mac sat on the sofa, her eyes squished shut as she focused on Seth. She was worried about Leah to, but Seth was somewhat mellower than her best friend and so she determined that Leah was a lot more likely to go all angry wolf on Seth's ass than the other way around.

Her worried eyes snapped up to the door the moment she heard it open, Seth walked in first and he flashed her an easy going smile when he saw the worry in her eyes, Leah followed her younger brother, looking less angry than before but still a little disgruntled.

Seth plopped down onto the sofa beside Mac, where she was still sitting cross legged, her eyes cautiously watching the she wolf as she searched Sues cupboards noisily for her latest container of baking.

"Stop looking so worried Mac, everything's fine", Seth told her casually, throwing a heavy arm around her shoulders and pulling her into his side.

Mac gave a little growl of disagreement, but allowed the easily smiling Beta to pull her across his lap, "_it didn't look fine_", she said, her tone slightly pissed off as Seth wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his chin on top of her head.

"Well it is", he told her simply, smiling as she snuggled back against him so her back was flush against his chest, despite the scowl on her face and her pissed of tone of voice.

Seth frowned when Mac stiffened against him, her eyes wary as Leah strolled into the room. The she wolf rolled her eyes as she noted Mac's placement on her younger brothers lap. He growled lightly as Mac shifted uncomfortably under Leah's unrelenting gaze. Leah turned her gaze to her brother, who was shooting her a warning look, and snapped her teeth at him cheekily.

She popped her last cookie into her mouth before nodding towards the hallway that led to her bedroom, "we need to talk Mac", Leah said, her tone deceptively pleasant.

Mac sighed, attempting to remove herself from the safety of Seth's lap. "Seth... You're going to have to let me go..." Mac started, as she wiggled against his grip, he however had other ideas.

"Leah..." Seth growled warningly, holding his struggling imprint on his lap.

"Fuck Seth, chill", Leah drawled lazily. "I actually like Mac. I'm not going to kill her, so let her go".

Seth gave Leah a warning look before finally releasing Mac who patted him on the head fondly, giving the worried Beta a reassuring smile before following Leah down the Clearwater's narrow hallway to her room.

Leah's room was slightly larger than Seth's and significantly tidier and less pungent. Most of the room was taken up by Leah's double bed, which is where Mac sat nervously as the she wolf appraised her carefully, she swallowed nervously not able to met her best friends eye.

"So, you and Seth?" Leah started, her tone and relaxed body language not matching the pissed off look on her face.

"Um... y-yeah, Sorry?" Mac stuttered, unsure exactly what to tell Leah, who was looking progressively more pissed off by the second. "Shit Leah, I'm sorry I like your brother more than I originally intended to, ok? It just... Happened. And you're not ok with it, are you? Crap. Can you just be ok with it Leah? Because I really like him and I don't want you to hate me! Please don't kill me!" she rushed out, her cheeks turning slightly pink as the she wolf gave her a surprised look.

Leah blinked a couple of times before shaking her head and sitting down beside the blushing Mac, "I knew this was going to the happened the moment you two idiots meet", the she wolf said, cringing at the memory. "I'm not gunna lie, it pisses me off a little, but I know he likes you... you should try patrolling with him... But I'm not ok with it yet, but I will be, it's just going to take a little time. He's my little brother Mac, so I'm only going to tell you this once, don't mess with him and don't hurt him, you're my best friend but messing with my baby brother would fuck that up... and I don't want that, so just... play nice and try to stay out of trouble, he worries about you, _hell we all worry about you_... "

Mac huffed angrily, slightly annoyed by the fact that it was not only Seth and Leah worried about her, but the entire pack. She knew they had good reason to, but it still irritated her to no ends, "I always _try_ stay out of trouble Leah", she quipped, flicking the suddenly sceptical looking she wolf a cheeky grin. "It just doesn't work out for me most of the time".

Leah snorted out a laugh, ruffling Mac's hair before flopping back onto her neatly made bed, courtesy of Sue. "Sure you do Mac".

The younger girl shot her closest friend an annoyed look as she attempted to smooth her dark, unruly hair back into place, "wait... your ok with this? Well, going to be ok with this?" she asked slowly a look of realisation spreading across her face.

The she wolf opened one eye lazily and glanced up on Mac, who was watching her curiously, "Yeah, it'll take awhile to get used to, but as long as he treats you right, and you treat him right then I'm good". She closed her eyes and stretched out on the bed with a yawn, her back popping pleasantly as she did, "there's only one problem that I can think of Mac, my little brother is pretty good at keeping his thoughts to himself when he's patrolling, the only one who's better at it is _Jake_", Leah explained, spitting the Alphas name out angrily, after all he still hadn't received his cookies of doom yet, that was Mac's after dinner mission.

"What is it?" Mac asked curiously, sighing and deciding that her hair would just have to stay messy.

"Even my little brother makes mistakes occasionally and _when_ he slips I don't want images of you to getting your freak on flooding my friggen mind every time I patrol with him, although I'm sure they boy's won't mind so much..." Leah trailed off, smirking at the mixture of embarrassment and annoyance that was currently displayed on Mac's face.

"Getting our freak on? _Really_?" Mac asked, leaning across and giving Leah's pinkie toe a firm tug. "I don't get my freak on Leah, I'm a virgin who hates alcohol, swearing and has never kissed a boy in her life, and if that one day changes then I'll purchase you a bucket of mind bleach".

Leah snorted out a laugh, flashing her serious looking friend a wicked grin, "_bull-fucking-shit_ Mac", she laughed, giving Mac a gentle kick with her violated foot which sent the younger girl reeling to the floor with a thud and a curse word.

"You don't believe me Leah, I'm hurt", Mac chuckled, standing and rubbing the spot on her backside that had connected with the floor.

"You're about as much an alcohol hating virgin as I am a ballet loving vampire", Leah said, her tone amused as she watched the younger girl nurse her newest bruises, a scowl on her face.

"... Touché", Mac said softly, flashing the older girl a pretty smile and sitting back down on the soft bed. "So we're cool?" She added hopefully, watching Leah's foot carefully for any signs of another sudden assault.

"Yeah, we're cool", Leah laughed. "Well, I'm cool, you're just weird", she added after several moments of consideration. Mac looked offended for a couple of seconds, but then decided that the She wolf was probably right and so instead of attacking Leah's other toes in retribution she gave her friend a sheepish smile.

"Seth's watching Sponge Bob again", Leah said absent-mindedly after several moments silence, glancing in the direction of the living room where the Beta was pretending to watch T.V, but was in fact was straining to here the two girls conversation. That had been going well, until Sue had hit him around the head with a wooden spoon, told him to stop being so nosy and turned the T.V up so loud that it effectively blocked out whatever the girls were talking about.

"I have no clue what that idiot sees in that programme, the little yellow sponge is freaky", Mac muttered, holding her hands above her and admiring the florescent orange nail polish she had carefully painted on that afternoon.

"And its laugh... I swear that sponge couldn't get any more fucking annoying if it tried", Leah said, the tone of her voice bordering on disgust. "Let's go educated the twerp on good television. I'm pretty sure there's a horror movie on the other channel", Leah grinned, standing and walking towards the lounge. "I'm sure you can trick him into changing the channel, use your feminine charm or some shit".

Mac snorted out a laugh as she followed the significantly taller girl back down the hallway, "I don't think I have feminine charm Leah", she said thoughtfully. "I could flash him though, and while he's distracted you can secure the remote..."

Leah paused by the living room door and gave her friend a wicked smile, "That could work".

Mac flashed the curious looking Beta an innocent smile as she followed Leah into the Clearwater's small living room, plopping down in between the two siblings on the couch.

* * *

"Do we have to watch Sponge Bob Seth?" Mac asked, smiling at the Beta as he sighed contentedly and pulled her legs across his lap.

"Yeah, Sponge Bob's the man", he told the disgruntled looking pair, grinning at them before returning his attention to the T.V.

Leah rolled her eyes, giving Mac a look that she was sure meant that she should start the flashing soon because the She wolf couldn't take much more of this.

Mac sighed, snuggling closer to Seth, who was playing absently with her toes and nudged him gently in the arm, "I really don't like Sponge Bob Seth", Mac mumbled sadly.

Seth looked torn for a couple of seconds before his eyes narrowed and he gave Mac's little toe a gentle tug, "that is not going to work on me Mac", he told his pouting imprint. "But nice try", he added with a smirk.

"Seeeeeeeeeeeeettttthhhhh", Mac whined unhappily, "_please?_"

Seth frowned, glaring at Leah who was smirking as her brother tried to decide whether or not to give in to his pouting girlfriend. He _really_ liked Sponge Bob...

"_Fine_", Seth mumbled dejectedly, grabbing Mac by her ankle before she could move any further away from him, as she had started too after several moments of him considering her request. He sighed unhappily and carefully pulled her completely onto his lap, wrapping one of his arms around her waist. "What do you want to watch?" he asked the dark headed girl, who was smiling cheerily at him from her new position.

"There's a good horror movie on..." Mac said excitedly, flashing Seth an innocent smile and patting his arm as he reluctantly changed the channel.

Sue Clearwater looked up from the gossip magazine she was reading and glanced at the three teenagers who sat quietly in the living room watching a movie that was sure to give one of them nightmares. She smiled to herself as she noted Mac's place on her sons lap and the way that every so often he'd sneak a look at the young woman and smile to himself, a tender look on his face as he watched his girlfriends reactions to the blood bath on T.V. Sue was sure they were far too young to be watching such a violent movie, sometimes it was easy for her to forget that they were nearly all grown up, and that each of them had probably lived through sights just as gruesome as the scene unfolding on the television screen, if not worse.

Sue sighed as she watched her little family, wondering exactly when her cute, innocent children had turned into adults capable of looking after not only themselves, but the entire reservation, she wondered when her son had become old enough to look at a girl like that, like she was his entire world, and when Leah looked over and caught her brother mooning at his imprint again, dismissing the sight with a soft smile and a roll of her dark brown eyes Sue wondered when her daughter had become so mature. The fact that her children had grown up so quickly always made Sue a little sad, but she was proud to, so damn proud of them.

Sue smiled sadly and looked back down at her magazine and not for the first time she wished that Harry was here to share this with her, to see the adults their children had grown into and to meet the girl who Sue was pretty sure would be joining their family in the near future.

* * *

It had been a long drive and Tony was exhausted, he ran his hand tiredly through his short, dirty blonde hair before he collapsed back onto the lumpy hotel bed. It was a cheap hotel, somewhere in the centre of Seattle but he had definitely seen worse, at least the sheets were clean and there were no rats around, not that he could see any way.

He was a couple of days early, but he had some planning to do before he picked up the package, which he had learnt was a young woman. Quite a pretty young woman actually. He didn't know what his latest employer wanted with the dark headed woman, but whatever he wanted her for he was paying good money to get her and if it wasn't for that fact Tony would have felt a little sorry for her.

He stripped down to his underwear before wiggling under the thin but clean covers of the hotel bed. He had a busy day tomorrow, jobs like these didn't plan themselves and he wasn't the only one Gabe had employed for this. His two associates were arriving tomorrow, he wasn't pleased about it either, he preferred to work alone, but Gabe had insisted. They better be able to pull their weight because Tony didn't have any qualms about dealing with someone who was a liability to him.

Tony sighed and pulled his pillow aver his head, attempting to block out the noises echoing through the thin walls from the dark streets outside. As he drifted off to sleep thoughts of a doomed young woman he had only ever seen in a photograph ran through his head and he couldn't help but think it was such a shame that she was probably going to die.

* * *

The Alpha had been having a nap when he felt the presence of his Beta approaching the little house he shared with his father, who was currently in the lounge enjoying left over pizza from last night.

Jake groaned and ran a hand through his hair, absently thinking that he could probably do with another hair cut. He wasn't letting Leah do it again though, not after what happened last time...

By the time the Beta and his girlfriend, which Mac now was judging by Seth's smile and even happier than usual mood, had reached the house Jake had already pulled on a ripped pair of jogging pants and was sitting on the front door step of his house munching on a piece of pizza his father had so generously given him.

"Hey man", Jake said, giving his Beta an easy smile before stuffing the rest of the pizza slice in his mouth. "Hey Mac", he managed to mumble around his pizza "what's up?"

Mac cringed as what was possibly was a piece of salami barely missed landing on her denim covered leg and Seth snickered at her reaction, "hey Jake, we thought that it'd be nice if we paid you a visit", she informed the Alpha, leaving Seth's side to sit beside Jake on the small steps. "You haven't seen me in a while, and I know how horrible that must be for you" she told him, her tone completely serious, she even shot Seth a warning look when he had the audacity to give the Alpha an amused smile.

Jake laughed loudly and threw a heavy arm around Mac's shoulders "it's been too long", he told the dark headed girl seriously, she smiled happily at him and nodded in agreement. "I've missed your sense of modesty".

It was about this time that Jake noticed the strange smelling plastic container sitting on Mac's lap, and he gave the young woman a curious look and nodded towards the odd smelling blue plastic box, "what's in there Short stuff?"

The use of her much hated nick name made her scowl, and she glared at the Alpha dangerously, causing him to chuckle and ruffle up her hair. Suddenly she didn't feel so bad about delivering the cookies of doom.

"Cookies!" She told him happily. "I made them for you today because Leah said you get hungry and eat all her food, which isn't very nice Jake", she gave the now wary looking Alpha a disapproving look. "You do like cookies don't you?" She asked, her tone now worried and more than a little sad. "These things took me forever to make, but if you don't want them, that's ok..."

Jake gave Mac a gentle smile, "naw, I like cookies Mac. Us wolves don't really discriminate against food".

Mac laughed, flashing both the wolves a cheeky grin, "yeah, I know". She hummed thoughtfully as she peeled back the lid of the plastic container, revealing the slightly over cooked cookies and releasing a strange smell, causing both the Alpha and the Beta to wrinkle their noses.

Jake peered carefully into the container, "They're a bit, ah bur-".

"-_No Jake_", Seth said carefully, interrupting whatever the slightly older wolf was about to say. "_They're_ _**crispy**_", he whispered, the look on his face warning the Alpha that finishing that sentence would be a very bad idea and would result in the hurt feelings of the expectant looking imprint.

One look at the hopeful face of the Beta's imprint and he decided that Seth's terminology would be more appropriate, "Yeah _crispy_... But that's cool Mac", he told the happily smiling girl, giving a lock of her hair a gentle tug and taking the container and its crispy cookies from the girls lap. "I prefer my cookies crispy".

Seth gave the Alpha a thankful look, the last thing he wanted was an upset imprint, it was nice to see her smiling for a change. However he couldn't help but feel a little sorry for the Alpha as Mac looked at him expectantly, "eat one!" she whispered, watching him carefully.

Jake tried to keep the look of terror off his face as he lifted one of the cookies out of the container, sniffing it gingerly, "I'm not really hungry Mac...". He shot Seth a dark look as he snorted out a laugh, covering it with a cough and giving the gliving Alpha an innocent smile.

"Nonsense!" She told him, patting his arm fondly. "You're a wolf, you're _always_ hungry".

Jake gave a mournful sigh, giving the Beta one last "fuck you" look before popping the foul smelling creation into his mouth. Thankfully Jake was tough, and he managed to keep his features neutral as he munched slowly on what was definitely the worst cookie he had ever eaten. He swallowed carefully, giving Mac a convincing smile, "They're pretty good for your first try Mac", he informed the dark headed girl, rather impressed at his own acting skills.

Mac beamed at him, secretly surprised that he had actually managed to eat that with a straight face. She knew he'd eaten Leah's cake, that he'd called her short and had messed up her hair _again_, but he was being so nice about her cookies, cookies that she knew where horrible, that she and Leah had added extra ingredients into to make horrible. Seth was giving his girlfriend a curious look as he felt her guilt seep through the imprint bond.

Mac smiled up at Jake again, deciding that she'd already come this far, she might as well finish her mission, "you can have another one if you want", she told him cheerily. The Alpha smiled, looking a little less enthusiastic about his cookie this time around and reluctantly munched on another one of the nasty treats.

Seth narrowed his eyes at his innocent looking imprint who was now purposely avoiding meeting his gaze, he watched in pity as she talked Jake into eating three more cookies. Seth hoped those cookies weren't lethal, not only was Jake the Alpha of the pack but he was one of Seth's closest friends, so he'd rather he didn't die anytime soon.

Seth watched Mac suspiciously from his position slightly behind her as they walked back to her small house, which was on the other side of the reservation from the Black's. She'd been suspiciously silent since leaving Jake with his gift.

"You're awfully quiet Mac", he pointed out, catching up on her and gently taking her hand in his own. He smiled happily when she didn't pull away, but instead gave him a shy smile and intertwined her small fingers with his much larger ones.

She shrugged, but again didn't meet his eye, "I guess I'm just tired" she told him quietly, rubbing little patterns on the back of his hand with her thumb.

He gave her a disbelieving look, trying not to get distracted by her the tiny circles being drawn on the back of his hand, or how soft and small her hand felt in his own. "You sure you're not just feeling bad about tricking a certain Alpha into eating some potentially deadly cookies?" He asked her, giving her a disapproving look.

"I don't know what you're talking about Seth" Mac told him, looking offended by the idea. "Are you insinuating that my baking is so terrible that it could kill someone?"

Seth just raised his eyebrows at her, smiling softly to himself when she sighed dejectedly and dropped her gaze to the cracked foot path. "Yes..." she murmured quietly, sounding a little ashamed of herself.

"That wasn't very nice Mac", he told her in a chastising tone, smiling when she sighed again and nodded sadly.

"I know", she said quietly, looking not unlike a scolded child. "He'll be ok... right?" she asked, her head snapping up to look at the young wolf, her eyes full of worry.

"Yeah, he should be fine Mac", he told her, giving her a soft, reassuring smile. "Us wolves have pretty strong stomachs", he said frankly, patting his stomach with his free hand. "Out of curiosity, what did you _**two**_, because I _know_ Leah was involved in this somehow, put in them?"

Mac looked at her feet guiltily, mumbling something so quietly that not even Seth's wolfish hearing could pick up.

"Mac..." he started, his tone becoming worried as the stopped walking and he pulled her to face him. "What did you put in Jake's cookies?"

Mac sighed sadly, releasing Seth's hand and taking a step away from the Beta, who was now becoming seriously concerned for the Alpha's safety. "I don't know where she got them Seth..."She trailed off nervously. "We put some weird things in those cookies, but Leah had this little bottle of... laxatives... I hope he'll be ok".

Seth grinned crookedly, running a wary hand through his hair. "I swear Leah's a bad influence on you", he muttered, grabbing Mac's hand and pulling her carefully against his chest. "He'll be fine Mac", he told the obviously still worried imprint. "It's just laxatives, I doubt they'll even affect him".

Mac looked so relieved that Seth couldn't help but laugh, his warm chuckle earned him a glare from the young woman, who pouted and tried to escape his embrace. "It's not funny Seth", she growled. "I feel so evil..."

"That's what you get for hanging out Leah, she has that affect on people", he told her seriously. "It'll take more than a few laxatives to upset Jake, so stop worrying, ok babe?"

After a couple of seconds silence Mac levelled him a flat glare, "Babe? _Really_ Seth? Babe?"

He shifted nervously, giving her arm a gentle tug as he started walking towards Mac's house once more. He blushed a little as she continued to glare at him.

"Call me babe again and I'll bite you", she threatened lowly, allowing Seth to tow her along behind him.

He glanced back over his shoulder smirking at her dangerously. "Is that a promise _Babe?" _he asked, his voice lowering sexily as he flicked his now blushing imprint a wink.

"_Dick_", Mac muttered under her breath, poking her tongue out at Seth cheekily, despite her very pink cheeks.

Seth grinned at her, before turning and sweeping her up in his arms, his movements so fast that she didn't even see him move. Sometimes it was easy for Mac to forget how strong Seth really was. It was dark, which meant Seth could run freely without having to worry about being sighted by anyone. It was only a matter of minutes before they stood in the living room of Mac's house, Seth not even out of breath and Mac pink faced from protesting at being carried like a baby.

* * *

"Do you have patrol tomorrow?" Mac asked Seth as she wondered down the hall to brush her teeth before bed.

"Nope", the Beta replied, following his imprint down the narrow corridor and leaning against the doorframe to the small bathroom. "Jakes got the eight to four with Ollie and Ben", he informed her, his quick eyes not missing the small smile that made it's way onto her face at that.

"I'll be here to eat and hang with you aaaaaaaaaaaalllll day", he said cheerily, reaching out and ruffling her already unruly hair. "Leah's off tomorrow, and she doesn't work Saturdays, so she'll probably be able to entertain you as well".

Mac smiled at that, a smile that made Seth a little nervous. "You two need to try stay out of trouble, Mac", he said, making a mental note to give Leah a lecture about being a bad influence on his girlfriend. Sometimes the two could be eerily similar.

Mac pouted at him in the mirror, placing her toothbrush back in the little green cup by her sink and turning to face him. "You're no fun Seth", she whined sadly, squealing when he pulled her to his chest, declaring he was in fact fun, he could be a lot of fun when he wanted to. He then demonstrated this by mercilessly tickling his girlfriends sides, only surrendering his attack when she'd managed to get out an apology and agree that he was more fun than Leah.

After Mac had changed into her pyjamas' she went down to the lounge to find Seth sprawled out on the living room couch, she wondered if he was planning on staying the night, she was about to ask him when he opened one eye lazily and gave her a small smile.

"You want me to stay tonight Mac?" he asked her easily, grinning when she nodded shyly and blushed a pretty pink colour. "With you or on the couch?"

Mac shrugged and started walking back down to her bedroom, yawning tiredly. "Where ever you want", she called back to him.

Seth grinned, jumping up from the couch and following Mac into her bedroom. He winked at her before removing his shirt, leaving him in only an old pair of sweat pants. He didn't miss the way her eyes raked over his now bared chest. Seth yawned, pulling back the covers and climbing in the opposite side of the bed to Mac.

He chuckled when she made an angry noise in her throat, rolling over until she was cuddled up against the now grinning wolf, her forehead resting on his chest as his arm wound gently around her waist.

"Night Mac", Seth rumbled, kissing her softly on top of the head. "Sweet dreams".

"That's the plan", she mumbled sleepily. "Night Seth", she yawned, kissing his bare chest gently and wiggling happily against him.

That night both Seth and Mac slept the best they had in a long time, Mac snuggled happily in the protective arms of her boyfriend.

* * *

Oscar was bored. Not a rare occurrence lately, there had been no more signs of Deimos and the wolves hadn't been much fun, avoiding him and his games while on patrol. Annabeth was all serious and had no time to entertain him, and Mac was stuck on that reservation with a bunch of grumpy, stinky wolves who had no intention of letting him near her anytime soon.

Oscar loved the pack- well loved annoying them- and he found it sad that they had made it obvious that they didn't feel the same. The packs young Beta, who'd stolen his only human friend away, was especially mean to him. He was pretty sure that the Beta was just jealous of his rugged good looks and lack of odour. That and he was scared that Oscar was going to steal Mac away from him, of course he did everything he could to make the young wolf believe he was head over heels for the dark headed girl, it was just too much of a good opportunity to mess with the Beta to pass up. Annabeth had given up trying to stop him long ago.

Annabeth, the actual object of his affection, was running another lap of the reservation before he forced her to have another break. She'd been even more restless than usual lately and Oscar new why, it had him nervous too.

Oscar had a bad feeling about the evil vampires lack of appearance lately, this had never happened before, not since he'd started hunting them anyway. And to be truthful it scared the crap out of him. The one time he'd meet Deimos it had been obvious to the much younger vampire that he was way out of his league, Oscar was stronger but Deimos was faster and Oscar hadn't been able to lay a finger on him. He growled loudly at the memory, his and tightening on the branch he was holding onto causing it to explode in his hand, chips of wood crumbling from his fist.

He hated feeling weak. _Despised it. _He'd swore to himself that he would not let anyone hurt those he loved again, not this time. But how was he supposed to protect them from _that_? Deimos was a monster in every sense of the word and Oscar would be lying if he said that guy didn't scare the shit out of him.

He snarled angrily and swung down from the tree he was sitting in, he could fit a few more laps of the reservation in before he made Annabeth take a much needed break.

As the handsome young vampire speed through the damp woods he swore to himself that he'd become stronger, he'd find away to protect them. Next time they fought Oscar would be the one tearing chunks of the ancient vampire.

* * *

_It was only a wee chapter, and I'm not really happy with it. But I just needed to post it and move on Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed it!_


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 14**

_Again, I'm sorry this was so late, I found this chapter amazingly difficult to write. I hope you all like it and thank you for the patience _

_A special thanks to those who reviewed my last chapter,_

_mel[dot]wolfgirl, hgmsnoopy, SundaySolis, BB-waters, The all mighty and powerful, SethsMYwolf, goldeneyes123, keirra and laurazuleta18. Thank you so much for the reviews __J_

___Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to SM, I only on my characters_

* * *

It was cold and wet in Forks that morning, even more so than usual, but that was ok, this was what they'd been waiting for.

The rain was the final piece of the plan, their employer had made it clear that the plan was not to go ahead unless the weather was absolutely terrible, they hadn't really needed to wait that long.

Tony breathed deeply as he stared out of the small hotel window at the dreary surroundings that was the small town of forks, flicking the ash from the end of his cigarette onto the off white carpet that covered the floor. He grinned as he crumpled the small cardboard 'no smoking' sign into a messy ball, throwing it into the small tin on the other side of the cramped room. _Finally_ they'd received the signal, he was sick of sitting around in this friggen hotel in this shit hole of a town, he'd always been more of a big city kind of guy, more people made it much easier to blend in.

His associates shared the room next door and were more than likely sleeping again. When they weren't going over the plan or stuffing their faces with greasy take-aways, they were sleeping. They weren't the smartest two men in the world, Marty was tall and well muscled, his olive skin covered in various tattoos that Tony considered to be more than a little trashy, you could tell by looking at him that thinking wasn't exactly his strong point, the other man, Phil, was younger but just as tall, he was more wiry than his partner but Tony was willing to bet that he was just as strong, his long dark hair hung down over his eyes and more often than not it seemed very unwashed. Of the two Tony liked Phil better, he wasn't smart by any standards, but at least he knew when to shut his mouth, in fact he hardly talked at all, maybe that was what Toney liked most about him.

He sighed, inhaling the last of the calming fumes before storming into the adjoining room, kicking the nearest body roughly and telling them none to politely to get their good for nothing bodies out of bed, they had shit to do. The groans and curses that came from the two hulking bodies weren't very promising, but after a few more kicks, curses and a broken lamp the two men were standing around the small table going over the final plan one last time. This had to go off without a hitch there was a lot of money riding on this job, more than any of the men had ever seen between them in their entire lives. Tony was not going to let them throw this away.

Tony yawned loudly, stretching his arms above his head and grinning crookedly at the two men before him they watched him with a mix of nervousness and anticipation, shirting uncomfortably under his unrelenting gaze.

"It's time", he said quietly his tone deceivingly calm, like he'd done this a thousand times before. "Either of you fuck up, I swear I'll fucking gut you", he said giving his accomplices a feral smile as he turned and headed out the door to where the sleek black car was parked.

Tony hummed happily as he speed towards La Push, ignoring the driving rain and pushing the car even faster. He gripped the staring wheel and glanced down at the neon green numbers on the dial of the cars clock, it wouldn't be long now, all the waiting around, the planning, it would all be over.

He was going to enjoy this.

Mac rubbed her eyes sleepily as she tried to wriggle free of Seth's warm embrace, the Beta had one arm wrapped securely around her waist, holding her so her back was flush the fiery heat of his chest. "_Sethhhhhh_" Mac whispered urgently, attempting to twist in his arms so she could face him and try to convince him to let her go.

The young man just sighed sleepily, tightening his grip around her waist and burying his head into her wild hair. He didn't have patrol today, which meant Mac had someone to entertain her all day, she was pretty sure she'd need it. Today she would need something to keep her mind of her friends and family that she missed so much, after all this was her first birthday without them.

Mac wasn't going to tell Seth, or anyone else for that matter. She knew they'd make a big deal out of it and she didn't know if she could handle that right now. A birthday without the people she cared about so much, seemed pointless and empty. She mentally chastised herself as she felt the tears start to fill her eyes, she wasn't going to cry today.

She squeezed her eyes shut as she felt Seth's hand shift from her stomach, to her hip, rubbing soothing circles on the skin that was exposed by her long sleeved pyjama top, which had rolled up as she slept. "Mac", he said, his voice worried as he felt her distress flow through the bond they shared. "What's wrong?"

She sighed tiredly and took her chance to roll to face him, making sure her eyes were clear of tears as she meet his concerned gaze. "Nothing, I'm just hungry", she told him, making a face and rubbing her stomach gently.

Seth gave her an unconvinced look as he propped himself up on one arm, using the other to stroke her cheek gently with his thumb. "Are you sure?" he asked her, frowning when she nodded enthusiastically and sat up right.

"Yeah of course", she chirped, rolling her eyes as she leant down, kissing him softly on the tip of his nose. He sighed, but smiled at her softly as she patted him on the head before fixing her pyjama top and rolling out of bed. She yawned loudly, stretching her arms above her head as she walked slowly towards the bathroom. She could feel his eyes on her as she walked across the room, his gaze skimming over the bare skin that her pyjama shorts exposed to him. She looked back to face his slightly heated gaze as she reached the door, grinning at him cheekily at him over her shoulder before calling him a "pervert" under her breath and leaving the room. She loved the way he laughed, and couldn't help but smile as his laughter echoed down the tiny hall, pushing thoughts of all she'd lost further back in her mind.

Usually Mac preferred taking baths to showers and on any other morning she'd have happily soaked in the small white tub until she turned into a human prune, but today she decided to have a quick shower instead, choosing to spend her usual bath time with the young wolf who was no doubt already in the kitchen consuming copious amounts of cereal and drinking the milk from the bottle. She _hated_ it when he did that.

As she thought of all the possible punishments she could impose on Seth for contaminating her milk with his nasty mouth germs again, Mac washed her hair and shaved her legs, her wondering mind causing her to slip and cut herself more than once. She cursed as she watched the blood tainted water wash down the drain from the fresh shaving cuts, hoping she had enough sticky plasters left to patch herself up, before washing the citrusy smelling conditioner from her hair and switching the shower off.

Mac's bathroom was small, home to the white bath tub with a shower and the only toilet in the house, so it was difficult not to accidently catch a glimpse of her naked form in the mirror as she stepped carefully onto the fluffy blue bath mat, and as always her gaze was automatically drawn to the jagged pink line on her stomach.

She hated her scars, no matter how hard she tried to forget her past they were always there to remind her, to bring her back to reality. She was still being hunted. Her days with Seth, as lovely as they were, were most likely short lived- he would find her, he'd promised her that.

They did more than remind her of her past and the realities of her situation, Mac was reluctant to let Seth see them, knowing that it would mean telling him her story, upsetting her and pissing him off. Mac was sure he was going to flip when she finally told him, making him even more determined to confront the dangerous vampire- a situation Mac wanted desperately to avoid. She knew Seth didn't mind her shyness, that he'd chalked her reluctance with him... romantically... up to inexperience, insecurities and her obvious trust issues, which was of course, far from the case. She was in no way inexperienced, after all she had been a _very_ wild child before this whole situation, she had few insecurities apart from the scars and her general pastiness, and she knew she found it difficult to trust people sometimes, to get close to them, but if she was honest Mac was pretty sure she trusted Seth more than anyone in the world and that she maybe even more than liked him, a thought which made her blush.

She sighed and ran her fingertips gently over the raised pink line, she liked Seth a lot and if it wasn't for these fucking scars, she'd have stopped shooting down his advances long ago. She knew she was sending him mixed signals, she felt like a bitch for it, but the thought of the cheerful young man with the cheeky smile squaring off with the demonic vampire terrified her beyond belief and she would do nearly anything two avoid the two ever meeting.

Eventually Mac managed to tear her gaze from the mirror and forced herself to focus on drying her hair and dressing herself in the tight long sleeved jersey and black jeans she'd picked out for the day. It was cold outside, she could hear the rain bouncing off the roof of her home, but she didn't plan on leaving the house and the simple outfit would be more than enough to keep her warm- especially with Seth around.

Seth had rolled out of bed soon after Mac had left the room, knowing he was going to drive himself crazy if he lay there thinking of the way Mac's legs looked in her unfairly short pyjama shorts. He'd scrounged around the small kitchen, getting out two bowls and spoons, Macs favourite sugar coated cereal and the milk from the fridge before settling at the small table and pouring himself a bowl of the crunchy flakes. As he ate Seth wondered about what could have his imprint so upset, it wasn't abnormal, she was upset a lot of the time. Not for the first time he wished she would tell him exactly what had happened, so he could help her, so he could understand, if even only a little, why she was in so much pain all of the time. Hell, he couldn't wait for that monster to show his face again, tearing him limb from limb was a pleasure he looked forward to eagerly.

Thoughts of the pale man, his dark flowing hair hanging over his face , his icy cold hands on the fragile body of his girlfriend- his imprint- caused him to growl subconsciously, the l spoon he was eating his cereal with moulding to the shape of the shaking fist as it tightened around the soft metal. He breathed deeply when he heard Mac curse and stumble, catching herself on the edge of the sink and stopping herself from connecting with the wet tiles beneath her bare feet. Seth knew she felt his sudden rage and he didn't want to worry her anymore than she already was, so he breathed deeply and focused on flattening out the spoon again until he heard the bathroom door squeak open and was assaulted by the enticing smell of the citrus shampoo Mac used that drove him crazy.

He looked up in time to met her nervous gaze as she entered the small room, he grinned at her easily, despite the anger still lingering in his thoughts, and pushed the milk towards her as she sat down opposite him. He watched her pour herself a small bowl of cereal, noting that despite her blow drying her hair this morning the ends were still slightly damp. She had her hair out today, which he loved, the dark, silky curls fit perfectly around his finger and he more often than not amused himself by playing with her wild locks while she watched some disturbing horror movie on her small TV.

"Are you angry?" she asked him carefully, after several moments of her playing with the cereal in the bowl.

Seth regarded her carefully before giving her a reassuring smile and shaking his head, "Nope, why would I be?"

Mac placed her spoon gently on the table, avoiding his gaze and nervously twisting a piece of her hair around her finger, "Yes you were- well, are", she started quietly. "I don't know how I know, I just know that you were angry- furious_. I could feel it Seth_, _**please**_, _don't_ _lie to me_", she almost whispered, meeting his eyes briefly before dropping her gaze to the table once more.

Inside she was praying that she wasn't just imagining it, that she wasn't bat shit crazy. She hoped like hell that Seth wasn't going to dump her because she was a loony. She'd been buttoning her jeans when a rage so strong that it had nearly knocked her off her feet had filled her, she'd had to steady herself by grabbing hold of the sink in front of her. Mac had known instantly that it was Seth, not her, who was so upset. It had been happening more and more lately, sudden rushes of emotion flooding through her- emotions that were not her own. It scared the crap out of her, sometimes the emotions were so strong that they almost knocked her off her feet, made her want to break something, cry, scream or even sing with joy. She'd found herself smiling like an idiot on more than one occasion only to realise she had no idea why she was suddenly so happy. At first she'd had no idea what was going on or where these feelings were coming from, but as these "feeling attacks", as she had decided to call them, became more frequent Mac realised that they felt familiar. They felt like Seth. She didn't know how she knew, but she could feel it, feel him. She knew there was something he wasn't telling her and she had been planning to confront him about this for awhile but she had been put off by the fact that she could be completely wrong, that she could be imagining it and had finally lost her mind.

Seth's slightly pained look as he sat opposite her told her she wasn't as crazy as she'd thought. "Seth..." Mac whispered, scooting her chair backwards and distancing herself from the young Beta who was now running his hand nervously through his hair. "What aren't you telling me?"

"Sit down", he told her, the look on Seth's face stopping Macs objection at been ordered around like a _friggen dog_ from leaving her mouth, instead she quietly lowered herself back into the chair. "Yes, I was mad before", he admitted, his dark eyes studying her carefully, "I was fucking furious actually. I was trying to figure out what had you so upset this morning and I started thinking about him, and how much I wanted to rip him to pieces_**. Hell Mac!**_ _When I think about that asshole hurting you I can barely control myself_", he growled angrily, the poor spoon twisting pathetically in his hand as his fist tightened once more.

Mac wasn't sure to be pleased that she wasn't crazy or scared that she was right, all her scrambling mind could come up with was- "oh..."

Seth gave her a pleading look, a look that begged her to understand what he was going to tell her. It made Mac nervous as hell. "I didn't know it affected you so... strongly, that you felt so _much", _he struggled. "None of the others can feel that much, their wolves can feel them pretty clearly, but Kim and Emily only ever notice the strongest emotions and even then, only faintly-"

"-Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a second", Mac interrupted, her face filled with horror as she processed what he was saying. "You're saying that I'm not crazy, right? That it is you; you're emotions that I can feel?" She asked carefully, her voice barely a whisper.

Seth nodded slowly, waiting for her to freak out like he knew she would.

"Ok... and you're telling me that you can feel me to... aren't you?" she asked slowly.

Seth nodded again, "It's a two way bond Mac... but what you feel from me, it's not as strong as what I feel from you, what I've feel feeling since the moment I met you, hell that first night I nearly had a heart attack, I've never felt such terror in my life, I thought you were being attacked or some shit, and then I got here, _fuck Mac_ ,whatever nightmare you were having... It must have been awful".

By now the dark headed girls face had paled significantly, "You felt that?" She murmured, he face becoming more and more concerned by the second. She could feel Seth's panic, it was bubbling through her, and she wondered briefly what he must think of the mixture of feelings he could feel coming from her. "Why? She growled, her eyes slightly confused, "why the fuck can you feel me like this? Why can I feel you?" she asked, her voice cracking as she stood from the chair, her tone bordering on hysterical.

"Calm down Mac", he said loudly, his voice steady, he winced when she stepped backwards out of his reach.

"_**I won't calm down Seth**_", she yelled. "What the fuck is going on?_"_

He cursed and looked awkwardly at the ground. "You're my imprint", he said, his voice clear and strong. Mac looked completely baffled and possibly even more upset than before so he pushed on, "it's a something that some of us do, the pack, it's supposed to be rare. When a wolf imprints a bond is formed between the wolf and their imprint- like with me and you- it's stronger for the wolf, but obviously it works both ways. Jake thinks the bond helps us to look after her, to protect her, I can tell when you're scared, when you're in pain. If you need me, I'll know about it. It's like we're connected, and that connection lets me feel some of what you feel. The closer the wolf and the imprint get, the stronger the bond seems to get..." he trailed off, watching Mac as she paced back and forth nervously.

"So the imprint's like a connection between two people? "She asked not looking at him as she continued to pace.

He let out a shaky breathe before nodding. "I imprinted on you the day we met, it's why I fainted like that".

"Like a girl, you fainted like a girl", she corrected, stopping her pacing and leaning on the kitchen bench for support, making sure she was as far away from Seth as possible. "I still don't get it Seth, why do wolves imprint?" she asked him shakily, her eyes wild.

"We're not sure, I like my Mom's theory the best", he told her, choosing to leave out Billy's theory about their wolves choosing a mate that will produce stronger wolves, he was pretty sure that wouldn't go down well. "She thinks it's like a nudge in the right direction, that it speeds up the inevitable. The moment their eyes meet he feels drawn to her and he just knows he needs to know her, honestly, when we meet it felt like someone had hit me in the gut with a sledge hammer and then I passed out".

Seth felt the pain from her before the hurt expression crossed her face, her eyes filling up with tears, shit, this wasn't going at all like he imagined it.

"So what you're telling me is that you and I have a connection, a bond that means we can feel each other's emotions... but you were forced by some fucking magic, to like me? That you wouldn't have even looked at me if it hadn't happened?" she was yelling now, her voice hysterical and full of hurt. She shouldn't have been surprised, she'd known from the start that a great guy like Seth could do better than her. She was much too broken and he was much too late to save her anyway.

Seth growled loudly, stepping closer to his imprint, "That's not what I said Mac, of course I would have noticed you, how the fuck could I not?" He wanted to shake her, make her listen to what he was saying.

The look on Mac's face said it all, in fact Seth was pretty sure he could pinpoint the exact moment her heart broke- she thought he was forced to like her. She was crying now, even though she promised herself that wasn't going to happen today, big fat tears rolling down her pale cheeks as she took a step towards the hallway door. "Of course you were forced to like me! I'm all broken and mashed up, why would I even think that you'd like me otherwise?"

His hands were on her shoulders which shook pathetically as she cried, her eyes stared blankly ahead avoiding his burning gaze as he tried to make her listen, to understand that he wasn't forced to like her, for him the bond wasn't love at first sight, apart from the initial sledge hammer to the gut affect and after he'd gotten used to his imprints wild mood changes, it was an easy quiet thing. Like something telling him that he should get to know her, that he didn't want to miss this opportunity. Seth realised that he couldn't feel her as strongly anymore and considering how pissed off he knew she was, that was strange. It took him a moment to work out why- she was blocking the imprint bond.

Mac had her eyes closed now, making it easier to concentrate on the place within her where his emotions spiralled within her. If she concentrated on him, she realised she could feel him much more clearly- he was scared, angry and frustrated and she vaguely registered that he was still talking to her. She hated that Seth could feel what she was feeling, it embarrassed her to know that he'd felt how miserable she really was, he'd know that she was bullshitting them all the whole damn time. So she concentrated the bond and pushed it way down deep, gritting her teeth at the emptiness she felt envelope her, all she could feel was a tiny niggle in the back of her mind. She heard Seth's sharp intake of breath as he realised what she was doing.

He could barely feel her. The sudden emptiness making him feel nauseous and he scrambled to fight back. He pushed, attempting to break through the barriers she'd built between them, nothing. He felt nothing from her. "Mac, stop that", he said angrily, his frustration getting the better of him. Things had been going so well before this had happened and he couldn't help but think that they still would be if he had done this differently, put more thought and planning into the conversation, like Jared had. Kim had been pissed off at first, but she'd never reacted this strongly. He hadn't even known that it was possible for an imprint to manipulate the bond this way. "I need you to listen to me, ok?"

She just glared at him, which Seth thought was better, at least she was looking at him now, all be it angrily. "For me, it wasn't like love at first sight, ok? It was mor-"

She cut him off, attempting to wiggle free from his grip and distance herself from him, "-I don't think we should see each other anymore Seth. I don't want you to go out with me because some wolfy magic told you too, that's hardly fair. So break stupid imprint bond and go find someone else, it'd be much better that way".

Seth disagreed. Strongly. "Not gunna happen Mac, you can't dump be because you think _**I**_ don't want to be with _**you**_", he growled. "I'm not going out with you because of some wolfy fucking magic, I asked you to be my girlfriend because _I like you_. I like everything about you, even the things you hate, or the things you don't realise you do, like the way you play with your hair when you're nervous", he said angrily. "I don't want anyone else, and it's not because of _**fucking magic**_, it's because of you. _Magic didn't make me like you; you did that all by yourself_".

That floored Mac for a few seconds and she felt herself tearing up again. God, she was so confused. "Of course you would say that", she argued. "How do I know you're not just telling me this because of the imprint?"

Seth groaned audibly, she sure as hell wasn't making this easy. "Trust me", he pleaded quietly.

"I can't Seth", Mac whispered sadly. "You've been brain washed, remember?"

"_What_? I haven't been brainwashed", he told her tiredly. "If you don't believe me, ask Leah, hell, ask anyone in the pack they've all heard my thoughts Mac".

Mac stopped her wiggling and looked at Seth thoughtfully, deciding that this was actually a very good idea. She didn't want to break up with Seth, but she didn't want him to be with her because of some mythical bond that forced him to want her. "Ok", she agreed slowly. "Let's go see Leah then", she decided, stepping away from Seth and heading towards the door.

As Seth started to follow, feeling more than a little relieved, he wondered when Mac was going to stop suppressing the imprint bond, it was already driving him crazy. "Once she's told you I'm right will you stop messing with the imprint Mac?"He asked her, his tone tired and slightly annoyed.

Mac turned to glance at him, her hand poised over the door knob. "Maybe-"

A sudden pained growl from Seth cut Mac off, his legs crumpling as he fell to the ground. He looked up and gave Mac a panicked look, something was wrong. He knew it a moment before the first frantic howl echoed out of the forest. _Something was very, very wrong_. Seconds after the first howl the rest of his packs howls could be heard flooding from the forest, something had made it across the border, Seth had to go.

He pushed himself off the ground and grabbed the scared looking girl by the arm, pulling her frantically to him and dragging her back into the house. "I have to go Mac, the pack needs me", he explained quickly, dropping to her level and holding her gaze. "I'll be back, and when I get here we're going to see Leah and sort this shit out. In the meantime I want you to stay here, don't leave the house, understand?"

All she could do was nod numbly, panic filling her as she thought of the dark headed vampire crossing over the border, fighting her friends the evil smirk from her nightmares plastered on his hauntingly beautiful face.

Seth looked relieved that she'd actually agreed to stay, and he nodded approvingly before kissing her roughly on the lips, the kiss desperate enough to have Mac even more worried than before. "I'll be back", he told her hurriedly as he headed for the back door.

Seth reached the trees behind Macs house in record time, not even bothering to remove his clothes before letting the fire envelope him, landing on four paws and taking off through the forest at break neck pace. He noticed several things as he joined the pack mind, firstly it was chaos, the pack was scurrying to catch two newborns as they flew over the border, secondly Ben was alone, the youngest wolf separated from the pack and attempting to fight off the female of the pair, it wasn't going well, and the images from the young wolf had Seth running even faster, speeding in the wounded pups direction. The final thing he noticed was the absence of a pack member, Ollie, the usually silent young wolf wasn't phased with the rest of them and it was with a certain amount of horror that Seth realised what Ben was standing over, why he was holding his ground instead of fleeing like he should have been. Between the massive paws of the pup, shielded under his huge grey body was the crumpled bleeding form of Ollie.

He wasn't moving.

_Oh God, he wasn't moving. _

* * *

Ben had never been more terrified in his life, the vampire was obviously a new born, her unervingly blood red eyes watching his every move carefully, just waiting for him to make another mistake. The female lunged at him again and this time Ben met her head on, not willing to risk trampling his best friend who lay on the muddy forest ground. His powerful jaws snapped within inches of her face and she grinned at him sadistically as she manoeuvred herself out of harm's way once more.

She was playing with him, Ben knew it. She was much too fast and much too strong for him to have any hope of defeating her alone, all he could do was stand his ground and pray help arrived shortly. He was bleeding heavily from a long gash running down his back leg and he was pretty sure the bitch had broken several of his ribs when she'd tossed him aside like a rag doll before, sending him crashing into one of the massive trees surrounding them.

They'd been patrolling, like they usually did, Jake, Ollie and Ben, each of them cursing the pelting rain that was quickly turning the forest floor to mud, as they raced around the border. Jake had been half a lap ahead of the two pups when it'd happened. They hadn't even heard her coming. She appeared out of nowhere, her wet hair flying out behind her and her blood reds eyes narrowing in on them as she burst through the trees. If he'd been paying more attention things would have been different. He would have been able to stop her in time. As it was the female had flew at Ben like a bullet, Ollie had seen her first and managed to intercept her attack, but the heavy rain had made the ground slippery and as he'd twisted to crush his jaws around her leg he'd slipped.

Ollie had cursed, knowing what was coming, knowing that his pack mate wasn't going to reach him in time. Ben had only been able to watch as the vampire wound its sickly white arms around his friend, engulfing him in her crushing embrace before sending him hurtling into the forest. He'd bounced along the ground roughly, like a stone skimming across a lake, before connecting with a rock bank some fifty metres away. He still lay at the base of that bank, his human body twisted grotesquely, his limbs pointing in directions that they shouldn't be.

She'd gone in for the kill then, wanting to make sure her opponent was dead before moving on to her next victim. Ben hadn't even noticed the Alpha raise his muzzle to the sky and let out an anger filled warning howl, he didn't notice the second leech slam into Jake seconds later, hissing as he tried to silence the alarm, hell, he hadn't even noticed the rest of the pack start to phase in, all of them rushing to get to them as quickly as possible.

All Ben could focus on was the monster zeroing in on the best friend he'd ever had who lay defenceless on the ground. He hadn't had much time to think before he lunged at her, drawing her attention away from Ollie and onto himself, the attack earning him the deep gash that now marred his back leg.

That had been two minutes ago, she was circling him now, her crazed eyes occasionally flickering to the crumpled heap behind him. A feral growl ripped from his throat as he prepared to lung at her again, knowing that it probably wasn't going to go well for him, but before he could send himself crashing into her something else hit her full force, causing her to scream loudly and sending her careening into a tree with a loud crash.

Relief flooded through Ben as Leah slammed into the vampire again, tossing a pale hand into the mud with a flick of her massive head. Leah snarled, mentally yelling for Ben to get back, he obliged her, limping back towards the Ollie's unmoving body and crouching over his friend protectively, unwilling to phase back until the threat had been taken care of.

Leah connected with the leach a third time, tearing of another pale chunk of the vampires flesh from the screeching woman as they rolled across the muddy ground. Seth arrived in time to see the vampire propel Leah off her tattered form, the she wolf twisting in the air and managing to land on her feet. Paul came crashing through the under growth seconds later, latching onto one of the woman's pale legs as Seth's jaws closed around her head, the fight over as quickly as it had begun.

Ben whimpered loudly as his pack congregated around them, the Alpha appearing unscathed from his battle with the other vampire which now lay in a smouldering mess on the other side of the reservation. He felt his vision start to go fuzzy when Jake started barking out orders, calling for Jared to call Dr Cullen on his small beaten up phone as he knelt beside the battered pup.

Ben would never forget the harrowing look on his Alphas face as he looked down at the broken figure of the packs quietest member.

* * *

The howls echoing from the forest were frenzied, each one sounding more frantic than the last. Mac was curled up on the small couch in her living room, the duvet from her bed wrapped tightly around her as she listened to the battle raging within the trees.

She knew something was wrong, the howls were different than usual, less organised and more desperate than she'd ever heard them.

She squeezed her eyes shut and willed everything to be ok, for Seth, Leah and the rest of the pack to escape from their latest battle uninjured. The whole imprint thing still lingered at the back of her mind and she hoped that Seth was telling her the truth, Mac wasn't quite sure what she would do without him. She still had the connection between them completely blocked, pushed down so deep she could hardly feel it, she was afraid to let it open again, because if the chaos she could hear was indication she knew what Seth was feeling wasn't going to be very pleasant.

Another sudden howl ripped her from her thoughts and she turned to stare out the window into the trees. The rain was still pouring down but thankfully the wind had died down significantly meaning the noises of the battle were able to be carried to her house instead of being blown away by the wind. Mac was about to untangle herself from the covers and grab her phone to ring Sue, thinking that maybe she would have more of an idea at what was going on, when there was a heavy knock at the door.

Mac jumped so high she'd nearly fallen off the couch, she guessed it was Sue, or maybe Emily and hoped they'd be able to tell her what was going on out there or t least fill her in on the details of imprinting. She picked herself up off the couch and ran to answer the door as a second, louder knock rang out through the house.

"Hold on", she called out as she unlocked the front door hurriedly, swinging it open to reveal a tall, blonde man who was very much not Sue or Emily.

She gave the blonde headed man a dirty look, as he evaluated her carefully. She'd never seen him around the reservation before and decided that he must be lost. Mac gave the stranger a forced, but friendly smile, "can I help you?"

The man grinned, speaking to her in a rough voice, "Yes, yes you can", the way he said it made her feel more than a little uneasy and sent shivers down her spine causing her to take an uncertain step backwards.

The man noticed her anxiousness and wiggled his eyebrows at her before closing his hand painfully around her wrist, yanking her forward and out the door into the driving rain. Mac didn't even have time to let out the scream building in her throat before something hard connected with the side of her head, there was a shooting pain, and then everything was black.

* * *

_Thank you for reading I would like to know what you think of this chapter, I had a lot of trouble from it, so I would appreciate it if you would review!_

_I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas, and I wish you all the best for the new years!_


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 15**

_So, I managed to crank this chapter out pretty fast, I've been on holiday with the family and between fishing and getting ridiculously sunburnt I found some free time to type this up :)_

_Thank you to those who reviewed my last chapter- KerryH, Omgitsblondie, BB-Waters, Kierra, hgmsnoopy, SundaySolis and SethsMYwolf - you're all awesome! _

_I realise some people didn't agree with the way Mac acted last chapter, I had two other versions of the chapter, in one she lost it completely and pretty much had a full on mental breakdown, and in the other she took it relatively well. I couldn't see Mac not getting upset, after what she's been through and Mac is a bit of a drama queen, but she's also strong, despite everything she's been through she just keeps going, even though a lot of the time she wants do nothing more than cry. I thought last chapter was a happy medium, and I wouldn't have expected Mac to react any other way. She has faults, just like everyone else. _

_On that note, I hope you like the Chapter. I'm not sure about it but then again I haven't been sure about many of my chapters lately. Thank you so much for reading everyone, you really do make my day :D_

_Also, if anyone is interested I am looking for a beta reader. I suck at catching grammatical mistakes (which you have probably noticed) and would like someone to go over ideas with, check for inconsistancies etc. I've been thinking about going back to the start of my fic and editing/improving it (good idea?)... so if anyone's game PM me :)_

_Disclaimer: I only own my characters and my plot, everything else belongs to SM._

* * *

It had been an awful day to run loops around the Reservation of La Push, and not for the first time Oscar wished that the pack lived somewhere warmer. He sighed as he pushed himself faster, ignoring the driving rain that was battering him. The cold didn't affect him anymore, but it was still annoying as hell. The fact that the blustery wind made it difficult to scent anything coming towards him, made him jumpier than usual. It also meant that it blew the repulsive wet dog scent of the three wolves currently patrolling inland from him right into him, if he could feel nauseous he was sure he would be close to vomiting by now.

Annabeth was running a few hundred metres ahead of him, but because of the wind he couldn't hear her light footsteps as she danced gracefully through the forest and the rain meant that most of her scent was washed from the trees by the time he passed them with only a faint trace remaining. Considering Oscar had a very good sense of smell, even more sensitive than the wolves, that was saying something. All in all today had been an awful day for the dark headed vampire, what he didn't realised was things were about to get much, _much_ worse.

He was cursing the wind for the ninth time that day when he heard something that caused him to tilt his head to the side, attempting to listen over the wind. What he heard next sent him flying through the forest at record pace. He knew that angry hiss anywhere. Annabeth was in trouble, and she was pissed.

The first thing he noticed as he burst through the trees into the clearing was Annabeth crouched defensively a few metres to his left, her drenched hair flying wildly around her face as her pink lip curled back to reveal her razor sharp fangs, the second thing that he noticed was that she was incredibly hot when she was pissed, the last to catch his attention was the familiar dark headed vampire standing eerily on the opposite end of the clearing.

The smug smile on the face of the vampire sent shivers down his spine and he repressed the urge snarl loudly. Oscar was beside Annabeth in a second, placing himself on her left side, slightly in front of the snarling blonde so he was in between her and the pale man on the other side of the clearing. The fact that he was giving them an amused smile made Oscar nervous as hell.

Oscar had only meet the ancient vampire once before, not including the night they'd saved Mac, and there had been very little talking done at the time. A few cryptic insults were exchanged between the two vampires that flew right over his head, he'd had no clue what they were talking about and Annabeth had refused to elaborate afterwards. The fight had been over quickly with Oscar being relatively newborn at the time and although he was stronger and faster than the two older vampires, he'd been no match for their knowledge and practiced, agile movements. He'd been lucky to make it out alive, well as alive as a vampire could be. Deimos had wrenched his left leg from its socket before he'd even so much as touched him, leaving Annabeth alone to fight. There enemy managed to escape after Annabeth had taken a chunk out of his torso but not before he'd managed to take her right hand off at the wrist, the fight had been to evenly matched for Deimos and he had quickly fled. This time, things would be different.

"Annabeth, you look as stunning as ever", Deimos purred, his voice calm and velvety smooth. "Which is surprising considering the company you've been keeping recently", he added, his blood red eyes flickering towards the reservation before drifting over Oscar, whose lip had started to curl back, revealing his razor sharp fangs.

He chuckled lowly, meeting the younger vampires glare easily, "Oscar, It's nice to see you're still following Annabeth around like a lovesick puppy, I thought she would have gotten rid of you years ago".

If Oscar could have blushed he would have, instead he just released the snarl that had been building in his chest and added a "_**fuck you**_", for effect.

The other vampires' chuckle turned into a full blown laugh at that, the noise annoying to Oscar even over the thundering wind, "I see you're just as eloquent as ever, always the charmer".

"You shouldn't have come here Deimos", Annabeth said coolly, her voice calm despite her defensive position. "

His dark hair blew around him in the wind as he answered, "but Annabeth, seeing you is always so much fun. Why would I want to do a silly think like avoiding one as angelic as you?"

Annabeth growled warningly, her golden eyes narrowing as she took a step closer to the monster opposite them. "I told you I was going to kill you", she snarled, "Leave the human out of this, she has no part in our squabbles".

"I'm afraid I cannot do that darling, it is so much fun and young McKenna is such an interesting human... very spirited", he told her, his eyes once again wondering towards the reservation where the young woman was living. "As for _our squabbles_ Annabeth my dear, matters so old are best forgotten. The past is the past, I say you forget our troubles and join me, it'll be like old times, and I have missed your company over these long years", he purred, sending the fiercely angry blonde a hauntingly beautiful smile.

"_**FORGET? **__You say I forget the past, forget what you did to me?"_ she roared, her hands flailing wildly above her head. _"How could I forget that Deimos? Look at what you did to me! I never wanted this, I wanted a simple life, in a time that made sense to me. To be with my family, with you! But you left Deimos, you left me and then when you came back you ripped all of that away._ _**I WILL NEVER FORGET THAT, I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!**_" she yelled, her golden eyes revealing the agony that constantly swirled within her.

The smile faded from Deimos's face, his red eyes bubbling with anger and century old pain. "I had no choice to turn you, _I wasn't going to live without you, or let him have you_. You were mine, _**you are mine**_ Annabeth, one day you will see that", he growled coolly, his friendly demure dropping for the first time since Oscar had burst into the clearing.

Annabeth hissed at him lowly, her cool hand wrapping around Oscars trembling forearm and preventing him from rushing to attack the vampire before them.

The clearing was deathly quiet, the only noises the whistling of the wind as it whipped through the trees and the noise of the rain slamming heavily into the ground. The blonde headed vampire stepped forward, her face void of emotion as she placed herself in front of Oscar and evaluated the dark headed monster opposite them. "You lost me when you left Deimos, I will never be yours again. I will never forgive you", she hissed lowly. "I will kill you for what you did", she added, dipping into an attack stance.

On the opposite side of the clearing Deimos tutted disapprovingly, "Such a pity", he whispered, shaking his head sadly as he dropped into a defensive position, his gleaming white fangs visible as he readied himself for her attack.

Seconds later she leapt for him, causing Oscar to curse and drop around behind Deimos, who artfully dodged Annabeths attack. The female angled for him again, her teeth bared as he blocked her punch and swiped for her head. The pair were nearly a blur, even to his enhanced eyes, and they fought ruthlessly, snarls and hisses interrupted by the occasional crash or bang as the fighting duo bumped into one of the nearby trees. Oscar wanted desperately to intervene, but he didn't want to risk injuring, or being injured, by Annabeth, so he watched, circling the viciously fighting pair and waiting for an opportunity to jump in.

It didn't take long until the perfect moment arose. Annabeth swiped at her opponents face, aiming for the blood red eyes that were constantly taunting her. Seeing her movement Deimos lunged forward, grabbing her attacking hand and slashing at her throat with his remaining hand, forgetting for just a second about the vampire stalking around them, a predatory gleam in his eye as he waited for him to slip. This was it.

As Annabeth blocked Deimos's attack Oscar lunged for him, planning on ripping his head from his shoulders. At the last moment the older vampire realised Oscars plan and spun both himself and the snarling Annabeth around, kicking the blonde brutally in the stomach and sending her reeling into Oscar, who managed to brace himself before Annabeth crashed into him, her left arm wrenched from her body. The force impact sent them both flying across the clearing and smashing into a tree on the other side.

It was in the moments that it took Oscar to pick himself off the ground, spinning to stand in front of Annabeth, that the howling erupted. The first howl was desperate, but ended quickly; it was only thirty seconds or so later that a chorus of frenzied howls erupted from amongst the trees. Annabeth hissed in pain as her eyes followed the noise off into the trees, her small hands tightly clutching the stub of her injured arm.

"_Ahhhhhh, just what I wanted to hear_", Deimos sighed, the annoyed expression leaving his face, replaced with one of glee. "It was lovely to see the both of you again, but I really must run. You know how it is things to be done, people to see", he flicked the snarling pair a wink before disappearing off into the trees, heading in the opposite direction of the wolves.

Oscar was starting to remember why he hated this guy so much. He cursed as he scanned the clearing, hoping to sight of Annabeths missing arm that had been ripped off just below her elbow. He sighted it easily and handed it carefully back to a trembling Annabeth, whether she shook with pain or anger he couldn't tell. "_**Fuck Anna**_, are you ok?" he asked hurriedly, watching her push her arm back into place and wait for the limb to start knitting itself back together.

She glared up at him, wincing at the feeling of her arm slowly healing herself, "I'll be fine, we have to go after him Oscar", she yelled, standing and heading in the direction of the trees.

"_**No, no, no, no, no**_", Oscar snarled, moving to stand in her path. "You're hurt. You won't be doing anything until you're arm's healed", he told her seriously, "I'll go after him by myself".

"That's not going to happen Oscar, and you know it", she said coolly pushing past him and leaping into the trees.

"Bloody woman", he growled, turning and launching himself after the blonde woman as she sped through the forest, her injured arm help protectively to her stomach as she weaved between the dark trees.

The driving rain made it difficult to track him, every time they thought they were getting close they'd turn a corner and find nothing, it was enough to make Oscar break several tree branches in anger. He was a talented tracker, his enhanced scent unrivalled and his gut instinct right more often than not... but this guy... this guy always threw him for a loop.

The pair traced him for three frustrating hours before they lost his trail somewhere between Hoquiam and Olympia. It just vanished, stopped dead in the middle nowhere. To say he was pissed off was a massive understatement,

Oscar was busy cursing and smashing up an innocent tree when Annabeths cell phone range, she fumbled uncharacteristically with it as she pulled it from the pocket of her coat and snapped it open.

From what Oscar could hear it was the Beta of the La Push pack, his favourite person to annoy and the wolf who'd taken a liking to Mac. He couldn't quite make out what he was saying, but the tone of the young wolfs voice and the way Annabeth froze after he had spoken had him worried and moving quickly to stand beside Annabeth who had simply said, "we're on our way", before snapping the phone shut and turning to look into his eyes.

"She's gone Oscar", she whispered, her voice shaky, "He took her, somehow... somehow he got to her ". If she could cry, Oscar new she would be, her small frame was shaking as she watched him with haunted eyes.

"We better hurry then Anna", he told her, his voice quiet but fierce as he gently wound his hand around her waist, tugging her urgently towards La Push, "There isn't much time".

* * *

Seth had to give it to the Cullen's, they were fast. Within ten minutes of receiving the frantic call from Jared, Carlisle, Esme and Edward were on site, trying to determine if and how they could save his young pack member, who still lay crumpled and muddy on the ground.

Seth and Paul were standing guard around the three vampires as Jake helped them work, the rest of the pack, with the exceptions of Ben and Jared, had been sent to patrol the border once more in case of any repeat attacks. The Packs omega wolf hadn't been able to phase back yet and even wounded and broken as he was, had been proving a challenge for the chocolaty wolf form of Jared to hold down as the pup snapped and growled at the vampires attempting to save the life of his best friend.

From what Seth could see, the young wolfs mind was in chaos, not able to distinguish the vegetarian vampires from their earlier foe. Jared was trying to calm the struggling pup down, mentally talking to him in a soothing voice as he tried to stop him from hurting himself or someone else. Jared had already received a couple of bites from Ben as he twisted and fought to be free from the older wolves weight.

The rest of the packs thoughts were just as frenzied. They were furious, scared for their pack brother, and shaken by the attack. As he paced around the circle of vampires, Seth worked to block the hysterical Ben from the rest of the pack. He didn't need to hear all of their worried voices, their doubts or feel their anguish. What he needed was calm, he needed to phase back so as soon as Carlisle had dealt with and hopefully saved Ollie, he could move on to re-breaking and setting the wolfs bones, which had already started to heal. Even with Seth and Jared calming him getting him to phase back was proving very difficult. Not that one could blame him.

They'd quickly decided it was best to move the injured pup to the Cullen house where Carlisle, with the help of Edward, would operate on his various injuries. None one, except Ben, argued. They could all feel him slipping, hear the heart beat of their brother fading, and even though most of them didn't like, or really trust the Cullen's, what else could they do? They were lucky Carlisle had even agreed to help them, apart from Jake and the occasional visit from Seth the pack tried not to associate with the nearby clan of vampires, it was easier for them all that way. But they all knew this was the only chance to save their brother.

Ben and Jared stayed behind as Paul, Jake and Seth sped after the three vampires as they carried the lightly breathing Ollie on a stretcher through the towering forest, reaching the glassy mansion that was the Cullen's home in mere minutes. Once there they rushed inside to one of the upstairs rooms. Carlisle had created the room for Bella when she was still human and kept it in case of any emergencies with his half vampire granddaughter Renesmee. The room was impressively stocked, with most of the equipment of any high tech hospital, the Cullen's limitless money setting no boundaries in what was available to them.

Seth had never been so thankful for their copious amounts of money in his life. One of those high tech fancy devices could be the thing that saved his pack mate.

Seth and Paul halted outside the boundaries of the Cullen house, choosing to laps just within the trees that surrounded the property. Jake entered with the three vampires, phasing quickly and pulling on a pair of shorts as he rushed in the door. The Alpha was manipulating the pack bonds, helping him fight to survive and making sure he knew he wasn't alone. They were here, and they needed him to make it. They all knew Ollie wasn't in a good way, this was going to be a long night.

Seth and Paul had been running laps around the Cullen residents for three hours and they had hardly from Jake since he had entered the house, he'd phased in once to inform the Beta of Ollie's condition, now his attention was completely focused on the young wolf Carlisle was working to piece back together. Seth knew it wasn't an easy job, from what Jake had told him Ollie had suffered multiple broken bones, his left side being particularly affected. His left femur had snapped and was protruding grotesquely through the wolfs paler than usual skin, most of the ribs on that side were broken, as well as his right wrist. It wasn't all the broken bones that was worrying the doctor the most, the impact had caused some of his internal organs to rupture and he'd received a serious knock to the head, fracturing his skull. They weren't sure how, or if, he would heal from such serious injuries, only time would tell. In the mean time Carlisle vowed to work his hardest to save the pup.

Seth had kept the seriousness of Ollie's condition from the rest of the pack, not wanting to upset them more than they already were. Ben was still with Jared but thankfully had managed to calm down enough to phase back. His arm had nearly healed, they weren't sure if it had set properly but that would have to wait until after the doc had finished operating on Ollie, in the mean time Ben was sent to rest at Emily's, where Jared stayed to supervise him.

He couldn't believe that two vampires, even though they were obviously newborns, had slipped past their guard and caused such havoc. It was almost like they'd struck them at their weakest moment, while two pups were on patrol with the Alpha, in the pouring rain and with the wind blowing away from the reservation, meaning the wolves hadn't been able to smell the leeches approaching until it was too late. Seth had no doubt that id Ollie hadn't intervened, Ben would be dead.

Paul, who'd been listening in on the Betas train of thought, agreed, everything about the two vampires attack had worked against them. The Third thought it almost seemed like the two newborns had planned it, why they would want to mess with their pack though, was beyond him.

* * *

Mac opened her eyes with a groan, alarmed when all that she could see surrounding her was blackness. Where the hell was she? Searing pain coursed through her skull moments later, causing her to whimper, a sound that was muffled by the thick, dirty tasting cloth that had been used to gag her. She touched one of her awkwardly tied hands to her temple, the side of her head was wet and sticky, the liquid covering the right side of her hair and face. It took her a few moments to work out that it was blood. Panic over took her when she tried to sit up moments later, only to smack her already tender head on what she was slowly realising was the lid of the trunk of a car.

Panic ripped through her as memories flooded back to her, the imprint, Seth rushing off to help the pack, the terrible howling and the tall blonde asshole who'd clocked her one in the side of her head. She wanted to cry, that fucking leech had finally figured out a way to get to her, even with the protection of the pack and her vampire friends. Mac didn't really know why she was surprised, he'd told her he would find her, but for a moment there she really had thought she was safe, that Seth and the pack could protect her. How wrong she had been.

Mac was pretty sure that the person driving this car was an awful driver because it sounded like they were absolutely flying, the engine roaring as they sped down an unknown road. The car turned sharply, breaks squealing as they struggled to make it around the corner in the slippery conditions causing Mac to role across the other side of the trunk and hit her throbbing head on the metal inside of the car's trunk. She let out a surprised squeak and her eyes started to fill with tears , overcome with the feeling of utter hopelessness. What the hell had been the point? She'd fought for so long, so hard, and lost so much, yet she was going to die anyway? _Like this?_

The trunk of the car was much too small, she was sure it was lacking air, and as she contemplated her fate it became harder and harder to breath. It felt like the walls of her small, noisy prison were closing in on her, crushing her, suffocating her. The pain in her head was near unbearable now, and as her fear overwhelmed her she started to hyperventilate, curling herself up into a fetal position and willing herself to think of a way out of this mess. Her face was wet with blood and tears as her mind flew over possible ideas to escape, _anyway to escape_, there had to be something. The pack was busy with what Mac had decided must have been a diversion and they were in trouble, she could tell from their frenzied howls, Annabeth and Oscar were no doubt in the same boat, there was no one left to rescue her. Not this time.

She tried unsuccessfully to kick the trunk of the car open for five minutes but she was too weak and tired from her ordeal and the blood she'd lost. If she ever saw Seth again he was going to kill her, he'd growl at her for being so stupid, for opening the door to a stranger, he'd tell her she should have checked who it was first. She wished she'd thought of that earlier. It was as she thought of the Betas chastising tone and worried frown that she realised that she was still subconsciously blocking the imprint bond. Her mental walls had crumbled slightly during her unconscious period but with Seth no doubt fully concentrating on his packs problems he probably hadn't noticed. Mac debated internally whether to simply keep blocking the bond, making sure Seth was kept far away from the monster she was being brought to as possible, keeping him, Leah and the pack safe and far, far away. It was tempting, she knew he'd be furious with her for it, they all would, and she wondered how the bond between them would affect Seth if she died. _If she was tortured to death by a vampire, would he feel it?_ He seemed to feel so much from her, what would that do to him? Would it kill him too? Mac wasn't sure how long her walls would hold up, the weaker she got, the more they crumbled down. She was pretty sure that if the pain got enough she wouldn't be able to keep them standing, and then Seth would be let in just long enough to feel his girlfriend, his imprint, die. Mac wasn't sure how strong this bond was, or what it really even was, but she wasn't willing to risk Seth, so she decided to give him a chance, give herself a chance. Mac promised herself to let him in for now and alert him to her kidnapping, she also promised herself that as soon as all hope seemed lost she was building those walls back up as strong as she could manage. She'd do all she could to stop Seth feeling her final moments.

After several moments of her concentrating on Seth and the imprint bond she realised it was much easier to tear the walls down than it was to build them up. Seth's emotions started off weak, flowing into her slowly as their connection was opened back up. The feeling of rightness and comfort that feeling him brought shocked her, she'd never noticed how much it had comforted her before. The more of Seth Mac could feel, the more worried she became that something else had gone wrong on the reservation. _Pain, anger, fear, sadness_. All of these feelings started to pour into her at an increasing pace as she opened the bond out further than it had ever been, reaching out to him and trying to make him notice her as she silently screamed. It didn't take very long.

As soon as she reached for him she felt him respond, curiosity and confusion his primary emotions as he felt her grabbing for him. It took him about three seconds to realise that the direction the imprint was pulling him, a pull that had started once more as soon as Mac had dropped her walls down, was not the direction of her house, or of anywhere on the reservation for that matter. It took him two seconds longer to be able to think straight as her fear, hopelessness and pain rushed through him. Then his curiosity and confusion turned into flat out, blinding rage.

_Rage._

That was all Mac could feel, could focus on for several seconds, it washed away her pain and fear as Seth realised what had happened. They'd been deceived and his imprint taken from him. He grabbed for her seconds later, pouring himself through the imprint bond as he searched to see if she was ok, if she was hurt, to find out where she was. She knew he could feel her pain, how weak and drained she felt and she knew that he felt how far away she was. It was like the bond between them was stretching the further away she got from him, she vaguely wondered if it would snap. His rage stayed overwhelmingly present, but as he felt his imprints desperation, her pain and her fear it was joined by fear of his own. Mac wondered if it was too late?

Macs own tremulous emotions and the throbbing pain in her head, mixed with the fear and raw fury of the Betas emotions, was too much for her to handle, too much for her too feel all at once. She felt him reaching for her through the bond and she felt it as panic took him when he realised how far away she was from him. Mac's head started spinning and she couldn't think straight anymore, her mind started to blur as Seth tried to hold onto her, he could feel her slipping away and Mac sensed that he wanted her to stay awake, he needed her to stay awake.

She tried. She tried so damn hard but she couldn't hold on. The last thing Mac felt before she was lost in the darkness once more was the fear of the young Beta as he felt her slip away. After all, if she slipped into unconsciousness again how would he be able to feel her? How could he find her if he couldn't use the pull of the imprint to tell him which way he needed to be running?

* * *

Seth had been pacing outside the Cullen's house when he felt it. It started of quiet and gentle, softly tugging at him and asking him to take notice, he thought Mac must have been worried about him, about the pack. She was probably tearing her hair out wondering what was going on, hell, he hadn't called his Mom yet either, she was going to gut him when he got home.

He knew that their families would be on edge, worried sick. After all that ruckus, who wouldn't be? In the chaos that followed the battle Seth had forgotten that the imprints and their families would still be sitting at home, wondering what had happened.

"_Ace",_ Seth called through the pack bond, wanting to get the young wolfs attention. _"I need you to phase back and go see Emily, tell her that every thing's under control make sure she tells the others. I don't want to worry anyone about Ollie yet, not until we know what we're dealing with. Once you've done that phase back in and keep patrolling with Sam". _

Seth would have let Sam go, it was his imprint after all, but he felt that he needed all of his most experienced wolves out patrolling. They were all shaken but the pups were especially affected, it'd shown them that they weren't as invincible as they'd thought.

The relief he felt at being able to feel Mac again, having the imprint bond unblocked. He was surprised that she had unblocked the imprint bond so soon, Mac was stubborn as hell and he hadn't expected her to give in that easily. His surprise quickly turned to confusion when the familiar tug in his chest pulled him south, away from the reservation. Fear started to bubble in his stomach as he realised how far away she felt, the connection between them felt strained. Then it hit him, her fear, hopelessness, and pain, his imprint was not on the reservation and she was in pain. _A lot of pain._

He snarled in fury as what had happened dawned on him. The newborns were just a distraction, a way to keep the pack busy while _he_ somehow slipped past them onto the rez and stole his imprint from him. The anger that ripped through him was enough that the entire pack felt it ripple through the pack bonds, enough that the Alpha glanced away from Ollie as he was being pieced back together and glance out towards the forest with a frown.

Seth reached out for her through the bond, she was further away than he thought. The pull in his chest was stronger now letting him know that his imprint needed him, she was so scared. _**Fuck**_, Seth growled as he turned towards Hoquiam his claws digging into the mud created by the pouring rain which still pelted the pack as they attempted to recover from their ordeal. She was fading but he needed her to hang on, she was fading fast, the imprint bond blurring as she fell into unconsciousness. Shit, shit, shit, he tried to hang onto her, he tried with everything he had, but it was too late. She was gone.

That was when the panic set in. How the hell was he supposed to find her if he couldn't feel anything from her? When the imprints were asleep they didn't feel very much, unless they were dreaming, like Mac's terror with her nightmares. When Mac was unconscious, she didn't dream, in fact she hardly felt anything and this caused the connection to became fuzzy, making it difficult to pin point where she was. It was like she was numb to him.

Panic and anger started to over take him as he ran, ignoring the driving rain that bounced of his muzzle. He needed to find her. He needed to save her. _He needed to_-

"_**-STOP",**_ the command slammed into him so hard that when his legs locked up his body kept going, sending him flying through the air and into the wet ground of the forest floor.

"_**What the fuck Jake?"**_ he snarled viciously. _"I need to go, __**now**__"._

Jake had phased now, feeling his Betas anger and concern. He'd seen Seth's train of thought and although he was very anxious for the safety one of the packs imprints, he thought Seth's tactics left a lot to be desired. Speeding off to rescue her without any plan, or any idea where she really was, was a sure way to get yourself killed. Especially when they were dealing with a vampire like this one. The Beta didn't care, his girlfriend was in trouble. _He needed to leave._

"_Calm down Seth",_ the Alpha growled as he started to send out orders to the rest of the pack. "_Sam, you patrol the border with Quil, Ace and Cooper. Paul, I want you to get over to the Cullen's and stay with Ollie, I need you to support him. Leah and Embry head over to Mac's house, look for a scent trail and see if you can find out what way we need to be heading, Seth and I will meet you there"_, he told them as he ran towards Mac's house.

Jake was trying to stay calm, you know lead by example and all that crap, but on the inside he was freaking out. This vampire was not one to be messed with, but then again, neither were they. This leech had caused them endless trouble, kidnapping one of their imprints and leaving one of their wolves fighting for his life. They would show him why the wolves of La Push should be feared. The Alpha was sick to death of this and the rest of the pack agreed. They wanted vengeance, to tear the leech piece from marble cold piece.

Jake reached Macs tiny house seconds after Seth, phasing in the trees behind the house and pulling on a ripped pair of khaki shorts before rushing around to the front where Embry was standing stony faced, attempting to reassure the heavily shaking Beta, who brushed him off and stalked inside the house. The Beta inhaled deeply as he entered, registering the three unfamiliar scents that were present small front room, he didn't miss the small droplets of blood splattered on the ground in the doorway.

The sight and smell of his imprints blood caused him to let out a feral growl and lash out at the door as he passed into the house, his shaking hand nearly tearing the door in half. The house was a mess, the furniture was up turned and the cupboards open with their contents spilled across the fridge. Milk and cereal covered the kitchen floor, spreading among the fragments of Macs new plates, the pieces crunched pathetically as Seth walked over them and into the small hall way.

The bathroom was trashed, the mirror smashed and Mac's few cosmetic items strewn across the floor, she never had really had much patience for makeup. Her bedroom was in a similar state, the mattress flipped over and lying on the ground, clothes flung across the room and covering the floor, the whole place had been trashed.

Leah stood in the midst of mess, her arms crossed and her face grim, she bumped her shoulder into her brothers as he moved to stand beside her, he was still shaking heavily, Leah had never seen her brother have to work so hard to hold himself together. She knew how he felt, at least a little, she was having the same issue. "We'll get the fucker Seth", she promised quietly, gazing around the room before her eyes settled on the small scratched cell phone that was partially covered by a stray pillow in the corner of the room.

Seth sited it at the same time his sister did and moved quickly to pick the small black device off the floor. He stared at the phone for a few seconds before Leah spoke, "They'd want to know Seth, and they might be able to help" she told him, turning and heading out towards the front door, where Jake and Embry had returned from tracing the scent over the reservation border to forks.

Jake turned to look at the she wolf as she stomped out of the house towards the troubled looking pair. "They headed through Forks", Jake told her, before she reached them. "But the scent trail splits off two ways, two of the guys went towards Port Angeles, and one took the road south along the coast towards Hoquiam. Mac's scent went both ways, I don't know which guy took her", he snarled, clearly frustrated. "Hopefully Seth will know which way to go", he added, jaw clenched angrily.

Leah growled, a noise echoed by the Beta as he stormed out the already damaged doorway, "The two vamps will be in Forks in 15 minutes", he growled, walking around the back of the house towards the trees. "They had a run into with that fucking leech at the same time we were attacked, but he got away. They said they'll catch up", he said to his pack brothers and sister, who followed him quickly into the trees.

This time it was their turn to do the hunting, Seth just hoped they would make it in time.

* * *

_I hope you guys liked the chapter, I found it quite hectic to write so I hope it came out ok._

_Reviews, as always are appreciated, they're great motivation for chapter writing, so tell me what you think._

_I hope everyone had a great New Years :)_


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 16**

_I know. I fail at updating, what's it been? Like a year... Opps. I haven't forgot about this story, I've just had a serious case of writers black and a computer that decided to delete this chapter after I had struggled with the damn thing for weeks. It was a tragic, tragic moment. Anyway, I plan to finish this story, however long it takes me, so thank you for reading and stick with me _

_However, on the plus side, no more study for me! I have just found out that I have passed my final exam and am now a fully qualified and Registered Nurse. Whoop whoop. Look out world ;)_

_Also a special thank you to all those who reviewed- ... and to those who favourite or followed this fic. _

_I feel that I hsould warn you all that this chapter is rather violent and dark. Mac's obviously not going to be in the best space, and she'll be reliving some of the most difficult times of her life, so I hope I don't upset anyone._

_Cheers :)_

* * *

They ran, the four hulking wolves flying through the forest at breakneck pace, their paws thudding into the saturated ground of the dense forest that covered much of the land around their home.

The pack mind was deathly silent, each wolf choosing to keep as much of their thoughts to themselves as possible, it wasn't easy and occasionally someone would slip, images of the attack flashing through their minds, the tormented form of their brother, the face of a loved one, or the pale face of their missing imprint. The overall flavour of their combined minds wasn't a good one at this time, anger, regret, fear and pain swirling about between them. The Alpha was having a hard time maintaining calm, especially with Seth, his Beta a hairs breath from snapping, and with Paul, his fourth, putting all of his energy into supporting the young wolf back in La Push who was currently fluctuating between life and death.

To be honest Jake wasn't dealing with the whole situation so well himself. Regret seeped into the corners of his mind, he fought to keep it away, but the feeling that he had let his pack down still played strongly in his thoughts. Things would be different if he hadn't chosen to run ahead of the younger, less experienced wolves. He'd been lost in his thoughts, and being faster had simply pulled away from the younger pair. He hadn't meant too. God how he wished he didn't.

He snarled quietly to himself, pushing the harrowing thoughts from his mind and his body faster. The snarl drew the attention of the packs third, who ran slightly ahead of him, her lithe grey form a blur as she manoeuvred seamlessly through the trees. He felt her mind brush softly against his, determined, angry, scared. Her mind was as chaotic as everyone else's, but he still found comfort in the gesture. _She was there. She was supporting him. They would do this._

Jake steeled his thoughts and focused on the two forms in front of him. The siblings ran side by side, their pace was relentless but he knew there was no point in asking them to slow down, he didn't want to ether. He vaguely wondered how long they could keep up this at this rate.

The dark form of Embry ran at his flank, and his best friend shot him a worried, but determined look as the Beta in front of them let another tormented thought slip for all the pack to see. Embry wondered how long the younger wolf could hold on? He was so very close to losing it.

Jake wasn't sure, but he hoped like hell that the other wolf kept himself together long enough for them to rescue the missing imprint. They would rescue her, because if they didn't Jake was almost certain that they would lose the younger wolf along with her. It hadn't happened in their time, a wolf losing their imprint, and Jake hoped like hell it would stay that way, but the stories and legends of their people proved to be of little comfort on this matter, they rarely had a happy ending. For a wolf and their imprint it seemed almost impossible that one could survive without the other.

The Alpha preyed that they wouldn't ever find out.

* * *

The wolves had been running for hours, Leah wasn't sure where exactly they were, but the group must've been nearing Seattle. All she knew is that the trail they'd been following split off in two directions at Forks, where everyone else had been unsure which trail was the false trail, her brother hadn't even flinched. He'd just kept running and they'd followed, trusting in the bond between the wolf and his imprint to guide them. From what Leah had been able to gather from the jumbled thoughts that her brother occasionally let slip, he couldn't feel Mac at the moment. He knew she was alive, but he had little clue how alive, or where she was.

At the moment Mac was unconscious, and because she wasn't thinking, or feeling anything , the emotions Seth could feel from the imprint bond were minimal. It meant that Seth was just as clueless to where she was as they all were at the moment.

From what Leah could gather, Seth was using faint the scent trail, combined with the last direction the imprint had been pulling him before Mac had slipped back into the depths of unconsciousness, to track her.

The she wolf was terrified. There was so much at stake. If they didn't save Mac not only would she lose her best friend, but she was certain that she would lose her brother as well. Hell, Sue had only just lost her husband a few years ago, Leah doubted whether her mother would cope with losing her sun as well. It'd destroy her, Leah knew that she would never be the bubbly, loving woman that she admired so ever again.

Leah wondered if someone could die of a broken heart? If this didn't work out, she had no doubt that she'd be finding out.

The entire pack had felt Seths' rage when he'd realised that his imprint had been taken. It had nearly knocked the she wolf off her feet. The Beta was already seething about the fact that Ollie was fighting for his life, and when he realised Mac was gone too, he absolutely lost it. Leah was actually surprised that Jakes Alpha command had been able to contain her brother.

She had never felt any one of her pack brothers' burn with so much fury, hatred and fear as she had when Seth had earlier that day. None of them had ever been so close to breaking an Alpha command from Jake.

The trees began to thin, and Leah could hear the sounds of people, she could smell car fumes. They were nearing the bustling Seattle.

Dread filled her. It was night time in the city, but even so it was far from asleep. There was no way in hell the hulking forms of the wolves would go unnoticed. If they travelled by foot, it would slow them down considerably. They didn't have time to spare.

She knew her brothers were thinking the same thing. Leah could feel Seth's frenzied thoughts threatening to overwhelm him. It scared the shit out of her.

"We need to stop", Annabeth murmured, the wolves sensitive ears picking up her words despite hushed tone.

The Beta snarled furiously, his thoughts portraying his utter disagreement with that statement. They needed to run. He wouldn't stop until Mac was safe again and the vampire shredded by his teeth and his claws.

As the rest of the group slowed, Seth made to push onwards, but the voice of his Alpha stopped him.

"Seth, don't make me command you again", Jake growled, ignoring the Betas snarls of protest. "We can't just run wolf into the middle of a city. How the hell do you think that would end? It would be bad, and there would be no way to get to Mac in time!"

The Sandy wolf spun around to face his Alpha, his teeth bared, the flaming anger he felt clearly visible in his massive brown eyes.

He'd stop for now. But if they hadn't made up their goddamned minds in five minutes, he was leaving without them.

The Alpha bowed his head in acknowledgment. He was having a hard time containing the younger wolf already, and he too was eager to keep moving. He doubted they'd even need the full five minutes to come up with a plan.

The colossal wolf paced relentlessly among the trees as the group talked, he listened to their conversation and planning, but there was no way he could phase back and join in himself. He was so far passed pissed off it wasn't funny, it made impossible for him to shift back into his human form.

Every time the face of his imprint flashed through his mind he'd let out an uncontainable bellow of rage, lashing out and swiping one of his massive paws across the nearest tree, his razor sharp claws shredding through the bark and wood as if it was made of butter. Mac was still unconscious, and he silently urged her to wake up. He needed her to wake up.

"They knew that if they went through the city, it would slow anyone who followed them down. Not only that, but all the people, all the smells, combined with this stupid fucking rain, make it harder to track them", Oscar murmured, rubbing his hand wearily over his face.

"I fucking hate this guy", Leah snarled, tearing her gaze from the tormented form of her brother to face the younger of the two vampires where he stood with his back rested against the trunk of a large tree. Unlike Seth, the other three pack members had phased back so they could communicate more easily with the pair.

"We can't just run wolf through the city, but on foot, we'll be wasting time we don't have", Embry stated heatedly from where he sat cross legged on the wet ground, taking the opportunity to catch his breath.

"We need to split up", Annabeth said urgently, "Oscar and I can move through the city quickly and undetected. We can follow the scent trail through Seattle, if Mac were to regain consciousness, then that wouldn't be necessary. The Beta would be able to lead us straight to her. But right now, we have no other way of locating her."

"You four can bypass the city, go around the outside and meet us where the scent no doubt picks up on the other side, we'll stick to the trail, just in case he has her somewhere within the city."

"How can you be so sure she's not somewhere in Seattle?!" the She wolf growled exasperatedly.

The handsome young vampire gave Leah a confident smile, "because my gut tells me so".

"And we're just supposed to believe your gut?" Embry asked disbelievingly.

Oscar snorted in seeming amusement, "my gut's never wrong", he told them all simply.

From behind the group Seth ceased his pacing momentarily to growl lowly at his companions. It had nearly been five minutes. They needed to move.

"Take this cell phone", Annabeth said urgently, tossing the sleek black device to the Alpha. "We'll call you if we find her. But I do think that Oscars right; it is my belief that he will have Mac somewhere more isolated".

Jake nodded, slipping the phone into the pocket of his cut off denim shorts, before stripping them off and securing them securely to his lower leg with the rubber strap that all of the pack used to carry their spare clothes.

"We'll see you soon", he yelled, phasing only moments later and following his Beta into the darkness.

* * *

Seth had never run so fast in his entire life. His body was screaming at him to slow down, but he didn't relent.

As he ran he replayed over and over the day's events in his head, wishing that he could go back and change everything. One conversation, one stupid, ill thought out conversation may just cost him his imprint. He wished things had gone differently, but it was useless. Instead Seth resolved himself to finally finish this, he'd destroy this leech once and for all. For Mac, for his tribe, and for Ollie.

Jake had talked to Paul briefly when he had phased in not long after they had started running again. The Doc had finished working on the young wolf, reset his bones and stitched him up as best he could. But the next twenty four hours would be the turning point for the Ollie. Either his body would begin the arduous process of knitting itself back together, or he would fade into the abyss as so many of his ancestors had before him.

Seth knew that Ollie was strong, the kid was a fighter, and he hoped that this, combined with the support of his pack members and the care of the Doc would be enough to save him. But his injuries had been severe, and Seth couldn't stop the doubt from creeping into his mind.

It was as the Beta contemplated the fate of his young friend that he felt a waver through the imprint for the first time in hours. The small motion was the only warning before he was overcome with a tidal wave of confusion and fear. _Mac was awake._

Relief washed through him.

Mac was awake and Seth knew where she was. He could feel her. She was petrified, she was in pain, but she was alive.

Alive was good, it gave him hope. The odds were probably stacked against them, but she was alive. He could rescue alive.

* * *

Mac groaned quietly, her eyelids felt like they weighed a ton, but somehow, she managed to open them. She wasn't in the car trunk anymore, she wasn't sure whether to be relieved or concerned about that.

The room was dim; the only light illuminating the space was seeping through from the tiny window above her head and the faint red glow from the cheap digital clock on the bedside table. It wasn't a big room, and Mac decided it could really do with a good cleaning. The sparse and cheap looking furniture was covered in a thick layer of dust.

There was a door on the opposite wall, and Mac could hear hushed voices talking through the thin wood. The voiced sounded hurried and urgent, she didn't recognise any of them but she could tell that they were men. Her heart began to pound in her chest. She wondered who was on the other side of that door, and prayed to anyone who was listening that it wasn't the vampire that had made her life utter hell for so long. Seth still felt so far away, and it was all she could do to cling to the slim hope that he would make it to her before the monster did.

Seth was being careful with her, she could tell. He was trying his best to hold back the bulk of his own emotions, to keep her calm and not overwhelm her as he had done before. Mac was thankful for that because right now, her own frenzied thoughts and feelings were enough to make her feel faint again. And Mac knew that if she wanted Seth to find her she needed to stay awake.

The emotions Mac could feel from Seth were overall calm and reassuring, she could feel his relief that she was finally conscious and the determination that pulsed through him. He could nearly pinpoint her location now, and that was something. Occasionally he'd accidently let a trace of his anger or fear leak through. Seth's fear scared Mac. He was a huge shape shifting wolf, if he was this scared, then she questioned whether she really had a chance at all.

It took a couple of minutes of Mac focusing on her connection with Seth, and some deep breathing, before her head stopped spinning enough that she could function enough to sit up, and even then, it took her a couple of attempts. Her hands had been retied and were now bound behind her back with what felt like a plastic cord. Every time she strained against them, the stiff bonds bit into the delicate skin of her wrists.

Mac surveyed the room more carefully, and quickly realised that the only way she could escape the room she was imprisoned in, would be through the door in front of her. The two men on the other side would no doubt have something to say about that, and Mac was quite certain escape wasn't going to happen. But even so she still had to try, right?

It took her a few minutes, but she'd come up with a plan. It wasn't great, and she didn't like her chances of it actually working out, but it was the best she could do. It was something. It was better than just lying there and waiting to die.

And so it was with a certain amount of hopelessness that Mac began to try to free her hands, she was even more defenceless with them bound. It was the first phase of her plan, to free her hands. After phase one was where the possibility of this actually working became even more improbable. Phase two was to sneak past her guards, which she was sure would be nearly impossible. Phase three was to run like hell and that was something that also would be easier said than done. She felt so weak, the knock to the head had really taken it out of her.

She sat on the edge of the grimy bed, pulling, wiggling and squirming against the cord for what felt like hours, the small digital clock beside her reminded her that it had in fact, only been half an hour. Every minute passed painstakingly slow. Every pull and turn caused Mac to bite back a whimper of pain as the plastic tore viciously into her flesh.

She could feel the warmth seep down, over her hands and onto the cover of the bed, creating even more stains on the once cream coloured fabric. Mac felt tears sting at her eyes, and it wasn't long before they started to flow freely. Rolling heavily down her cheeks and dripping all over her blood covered jersey.

Mac was so focused on her task, and the pain it was creating, that she didn't notice that the two men outside had fallen silent for the first time since she had awoken. She didn't even notice when the door handle clunked noisily as it was turned. She did however notice as light flooded the dim room, and the tall figure of one of her kidnappers filled the door way. Mac squealed in shock through the gag in her mouth, pushing herself back onto the bed and scrambling backwards in an attempt to put as much distance between herself and the man before her. Her back slammed painfully into the wall and the man tutted disapprovingly, taking a step towards the shaking young woman.

She had no idea what to do. He was so much bigger than her, he was immeasurably stronger than her, and her hands were still bound, broken and bleeding behind her back. She stood no chance against him. But it wasn't in her nature to give up, and it was as he advanced towards her, his eyes gleaming evilly, that the petrified young woman decided she wasn't going to go without a fight.

All too quickly he was at the other side of the bed, his long lean arms allowing him to reach over and easily wrap a firm hand around her left ankle, tugging her roughly and dragging her across the bed. She screamed loudly, the noise muffled by the gag in her mouth, her hands tightening around the wooden bed head in an attempt to resist the mans efforts.

"Come on girl", he growled, his tone somewhat annoyed. "You're holding us up".

He was much stronger than her, and it didn't take him long to free her grasp on the bed head. He reached to grab her other ankle, which was made difficult by the fact that Mac was kicking, punching and swinging her arms around like a maniac. The dark headed man cursed loudly when a stray kick connected with his nose, sending him reeling back a step and causing him to release his hold on her ankle.

"**_You fucking little bitch_**", he howled, clutching his now bleeding nose protectively. "If you weren't worth so much money, I'd fucking kill you myself".

The slight satisfaction that Mac felt at having caused this man some kind of pain was short lived, he was quick to recover, this time managing to seize both of her ankles. With one movement of his arms he sent her flying off the side of the bed and onto the dirty wooden floor. She landed heavily, and the action sent pain shooting through her entire body . Her head started to pound again and her thoughts turned fuzzy once more.

The man pulled her up off the floor, his grip tight on the top of her arm. He set her unsteadily on her feet, and shot her a look of distain.

"**Move**", he growled coldly, towing the unsteady young woman across the small room and into the adjoining area. She simply staggered along behind him, to tired and dazed to fight any further.

In the back of her mind Mac felt Seth unwillingly let some of his terror leak through the imprint. He could feel her rising fear, he knew that something was wrong, but he had no idea what was happening to her.

It took Mac's eyes a couple of seconds to adjust to the brighter light of the small kitchen and dining room next door. This room to, was in need of desperate cleaning and the furniture it contained was even more beat up than in the bedroom. The small wooden table in the corner looked as though it would collapse at anytime and the wallpaper was outdated and peeling away from the walls in the corners.

"Jesus Christ, from the noises coming out of there you would have thought you were fighting a full grown man, not a tiny girl", murmured a seemingly amused voice.

Mac turned her head to look at the man speaking and recognised him as the blonde headed man who had knocked on her door that morning. The bastard. He was giving his associate an amused look, but his body language was tense, and she noticed that he kept glancing uneasily across the room. Out of the corner of her eye she could see a shadow figure lurking in the doorway that lead out into the dark city night.

Mac's stomach dropped through the floor. Her heart was thundering in her chest. She took a deep breath and turned to face her tormentor.

The man before her was not human, but nor was he the monster that haunted her nightmares.

The unknown vampire had red hair, nearly as red as his eyes. He was slight in build, smaller than the two men beside her, but the small red head was infinitely stronger. She knew it, and from the cautious looks on the faces of the men beside her they knew it too.

The vampire appraised her with a snort, his darkening eyes travelling down her battered and bruised figure. "So, you're what all of the trouble is over? All of this time and money wasted on **_you?!_**" the red head chuckled disbelievingly, taking a step towards them. "That crazy old bastard has finally lost it", he said with a shake of his head.

The dark headed man still had a firm grasp on her arm, and as the vampire stepped towards them again he took a step back and drew her behind him. "_The money_", he stated gruffly, the slight tremor in his voice betraying his cool facade. "Give us the money, and we'll give you the girl", he finished, his grip tightening on her upper arm.

The red headed man froze, his cold gaze travelling over the two men before him. He could kill them so easily, he'd enjoy it to. He could take the money for himself, not that he really needed it, and leave the country. He could do that, he seriously considered it actually. He could almost hear the anguished screams of the men before him as he snapped their bones and drained their blood. He almost did it. _Almost_. But then the blood red eyes of his long time friend flashed through his mind. Menacing eyes. Relentless eyes. _Evil eyes_. No, there was no mercy in those eyes, if he betrayed Deimos now, his friend, the vampire he'd known for nearly a thousand years, would take great delight in tearing him piece from piece and turning him to ash.

The vampire flashed the men an impish grin before quickly sliding a sleek black backpack from his shoulders and tossing it into the waiting arms of the blonde haired man beside her. Unfortunately, a humans reactions are far slower than a vampires, and the bag whizzed through his grasp, slamming into his chest so hard it knocked the breathe out of him.

Tony had never seen anything like it in his life, and he'd seen some things. The moment the bag of money crashed into his chest, the red headed man moved. He moved so fast that the only indicator Tony had was the sudden squeal of the girl beside him as her arm was wrenched from his associates grasp. In the blink of an eye she was across the other side of the room, slung carelessly over the shoulder of that _thing_.

Tony felt his blood freeze. The red head had seemed off to him from the start, and now he was sure that he wasn't human.

He was a monster.

"Have fun boys", the vampire chucked, loving the shell shocked look on the faces of the pair. "You better hope I don't see you around". And with that he was gone, vanished into the city taking the dark headed girl with him.

The two were silent for a long while, both of them trying to come to grips with what they had just witnessed. Eventually Tony turned to the younger man beside him, "I need a beer", he whispered lowly. "You in kid?"

Phil nodded slowly, his dark eyes never leaving the open door where the vampire had departed from minutes ago. "A beer would be good. A few dozen would probably be better".

Tony snorted, picking up the bag of money from at his feet and heading towards the darkness, "Yeah, I think you're right kid. I think you're right". Unfortunately Tony knew that no matter how many beers they consumed, neither of the two men would forget what they had witnessed that night. There were something's you just couldn't un see, no matter how hard you tried.

* * *

"I hope you're comfortable", the red head laughed as they flew gracefully over the rooftops, from what Mac could see his feet seemed to barely touch the ground. "It's a bit of a trek".

Mac was far from comfortable, but she was hardly going to tell the vampire that. Instead she squeezed her eyes shut as tight as she could and focused all of her attention on the Seth. It was difficult for her to judge how far away he was, but to her, he felt closer and that thought was at least of a small comfort to her.

It was still raining heavily outside, it had soaked easily through her jeans and jersey and she was now utterly freezing. Her body shook pathetically, the vampires' icy cold body doing nothing to help her condition.

She had no idea how long they'd been running for, she guessed maybe an hour. She knew they were out of the city now, she could smell it. And the few times she had actually opened her eyes, she had caught a blurry glimpse of a few trees as they had whizzed past. The only sounds she could hear were the pounding of the rain and the cheery hum of the vampire who carried her.

Mac decided that humans weren't meant to move this fast, and she was pretty sure if they didn't arrive at their destination soon, she'd be dead anyway. If the cold didn't kill her, her motion sickness probably would.

It was a while longer before they finally stopped, and Mac was filled with such relief that she felt like crying. Then she remembered who she was being taken too, and she felt like crying for a completely different reason.

She heard the creak of a door, and was thankful that at least she would die somewhere dry. Mac was too scared to open her eyes. She could guess pretty easily who would be waiting for her, a guess that was confirmed when an all to familiar voice rung out from across the room.

"Ah, Shaun, my dear friend, how glad I am that you have finally arrived", the voice cooed, sounding delighted. "And you bring with you the lovely McKenna, what a pleasure this is".

"It has been a while, hasn't it", Shaun replied merrily, setting his package down gently on the floor. "I have to say Deimos, when you said you wanted a favour, this" he laughed, jerking his head towards the saturated girl, "is not what I had in mind".

The older vampire smiled gently at his companion and shrugged, "I've been trying to get my hands on this little gem for a long time now Shaun", he explained. "She has given me a lot of grief, and I am thankful for your assistance in helping me put my plan into action".

"Yeah, yeah. Happy to help", the red head chirped as he headed for the door. "So, I call us even then?"

"Yes, we are indeed even my, old friend", Deimos replied, dragging an icy finger across Mac's trembling chin. "I will no doubt, see you around Shaun. Safe travels".

Shaun snorted and shooting his old friend a final look, and the dark headed girl a wink, "Yeah. _You two have fun now!"_

And then they were alone.

Deimos gently removed the gag from her mouth, and the bonds from her wrists, he chuckled lightly when he noticed how mangled her skin had become from her earlier escape efforts.

"Open your eyes McKenna", his finger trailed delicately along her jaw and down the side of her neck. "_I asked you to open your eyes_", he repeated, his tone hinting of annoyance.

Mac made no move to open her eyes, she was so frozen by fear that she could barely move. After a couple of moments she felt his hand tighten around her throat, cutting off her air supply. She clawed uselessly at his hands as he lifted her from the ground until her feet were dangling in the air.

"When I ask you to do something, you do it, McKenna", the monster hissed lowly. "_You do what I say_".

Her eyes snapped open as her lungs screamed for air and for the first time since that night so long ago, her eyes of deep brown meet the haunting eyes of his deep red.

Deimos smiled at her darkly, "ah, much better". His grip tightened slightly before, his eyes remaining locked with hers for a moment longer before tossing her across the room like a rag doll, sending her careening across the small room and into the opposite wall with a crash.

The pain was overwhelming, and Mac was slow to sit up. She was hit with the realisation that she was going to die soon, and that Seth was too late. She didn't want to die. She had thought she did, there'd been times in her life when she would have welcomed death. There had even been a few times when she'd been so close to just ending it all, but at the last second had always pulled out. She'd been so alone, and trapped in despair. Taken from her friend and her home. Her family massacred by a monster, a monster that had continued to hunt her. The last year of Mac's life had been a constant horror movie. She had always been on the run, never staying in one place for more than a few days. She loved her vampire friends dearly, but they could do little to pull her from her depression.

She started to cry now, silently at first but the loud sobs soon followed. She had so much more to live for now. She'd always thought that life would never get any better for her, that she'd remain almost completely alone on rock bottom, but then she'd moved to La Push. She actually had friends, a boyfriend even. She loved them all so much. She had things to look forward to now, instead of dwelling on what she'd lost.

The vampire beside her cooed in what Mac supposed was meant to be a soothing manner, but the noise didn't match the gleeful grin that was plastered on his ancient face. She ignored him, and attempted to yank her jaw free from his grasp, where he had moved from across the room so that his icy cold hands held her chin tilted upwards, forcing her to look into his blood red eyes.

"Don't cry my dear", the vampire practically purred. "It'll be over soon, I promise. I really do hope you don't make as much noise as your mother did, it really detracts away from the meal".

Mac squeezed her eyes shut at that. She didn't want to hear this. She didn't want to remember this.

The vampire beside her grinned at her distress, "I remember that day like it was yesterday. I was so very hungry and was heading into town to hunt. It was the sound of the party that drew me to your lovely house. I was in the mood for an easy feed, and a house full of drunk teenagers never disappoints. And then I came across one of the most delectable scents I had ever crossed".

Mac let out a quiet sob, "_shut up_", she whispered, but the vampire simply chuckled at her request and continued talking.

"And you my dear, you were having quite the night before I arrived, weren't you? Your parents must have been impressed when they arrived home to find that their darling daughter intoxicated and in the company of fifty of your closest friends", the ancient vampire laughed heartily, his fingers tightening around her forearm and causing her to wince

God she hated him. Mac balled her hands into fists in her lap and willed for the vampire to stop talking.

She tried to ignore the way his fingers were ghosting up her arms, as he talked. She tried to ignore the vile words he was whispering to her. So close that she could feel his breathe brush across her face. She tried to ignore him, go to her happy place or something, but his words painted a picture, they triggered memories she had tried to forget for so long.

_Her mothers' scream had rung out from down stairs, the hysterical tone waking Mac from her drunken slumber. She could hear her father yelling. Things breaking. Her mother kept screaming. Then it was silent._

_She stumbled down stairs as quickly as she could, her head was still spinning from the shots of tequila she'd been doing only half an hour earlier. Mac staggered into the lounge, her eyes locking with the strange man standing across the room. She'd frowned, she didn't recognise him. Mac had no idea what was going on. Where the hell were her parents?_

_She looked around the room, still completely unaware of what was going on. Several seconds later Mac noticed two things, the first thing was that her mom was lying on the shattered remains of the family's glass dining table, her limbs twisted at unnatural angles and eyes staring blankly at the ceiling. The second thing she noticed was that she was standing in a puddle of some kind, glancing down, her eyes widened as she realised it was a pool of blood. Dread filled her._

_As the pieces started to fit into place her eyes snapped back to her mom's body. Her mothers' body. Her mom was dead. Someone had killed her mom._

"_Mom?!" She screamed hysterically as she started towards the bloody shattered table where the older woman lay, her blonde hair splay messily around her._

_But she didn't reach it. The man was suddenly in front of her, he'd moved from the other side of the room in the blink of an eye, blocking her path._

"Shut up, _**Just shut the fuck up**_", Mac screamed through her tears, kicking and writhing against the tightening grip around her arm. The more she screamed, the more the vampires grip tightened.

She tried, again, to pull her arm from his icy grip, but his hand continued tighten painfully around her. "Stop", she sobbed weakly, "please stop".

He didn't stop.

The sound of bone breaking is never a pleasant sound to hear, it's even worse when the bones are your own. The pains not great either.

Mac couldn't help the blood curdling scream that was wrenched from her lips as the pain swamped her. Her head swam again and her vision blurred.

She was crying again. Louder this time. Wracking sobs that shook her entire body, each movement causing a new wave of pain to rock through her. The vampire continued his story.

"When I crossed your scent, I knew I had to have you. You were- _are_- the most delicious thing I have ever encountered. I followed the trail, and when I reached your house I could barely control myself", he shook his head, his fingers entangling themselves in her blood encrusted hair.

"_Your poor parents simply got in between my meal and I_" he whispered darkly into her ear. "Your father tried so hard to save your poor mother, but of course, he was no match for me. It was a valiant effort though, I can see where you get your fighting spirit from", the monster chuckled as he straitened, stepping back and appraising his meal.

Memories of her fathers' crumpled form filled her mind. She'd noticed him out of the corner her eye as she'd scrambled back away from the demon that was advancing towards her. She'd screamed louder, tears pouring down her face as she looked between the broken forms of two of the most important people in her life. _And it was her fault_. They were dead because of her.

"But this time, my dear. There is no one between us. No one to get in my road. I finally have you to myself", he hissed lowly.

This was it, Mac realised. He was going to kill her. Feast on her blood, leaving her empty and broken for the wolves to find.

God, she didn't want them to have see this. She didn't want Seth to have to feel this. Her wolf was panicking now, she could feel it. Up until now he'd managed to hold the bulk of his feelings back, but after the vampire beside her had snapped her arm like twig, he hadn't been able to contain himself. It was too much. Seth was so scared. He was furious. He was determined. But Mac knew it wouldn't be enough.

She tried to block him out, close of the connection between them like she had before. But Seth wasn't having any of that, he blew right past her feeble attempt at shutting down the imprint bond and Mac whimpered as his rage grew. He knew what she was trying to do. He was frantic.

The vampire beside her laughed, burying his face in the crook of her neck and breathing deeply. Mac's stomach crawled as she felt his icy cold tongue danced threateningly across her skin.

* * *

Deep in the forests of the Cascades mountains the sandy wolf and his pack were closing in on the vampire. He could smell his imprint, her scent masked by the sickly bleach like scent of an unknown vampire. Seth couldn't wait to end this. He was already picturing ripping that leech to pieces and rescuing Mac.

It was as he thought of this that he was suddenly over come with such pain through the imprint bond that his steps that had been so sure and steady for the last few hours faltered.

He recovered himself and snarled in pure fury. That fucker was hurting his imprint. They were so close. He could feel it. But he was still so helpless, he couldn't protect her. He'd never felt so useless in his entire life.

The Beta's howl of fury rang out through the night.

* * *

At first the ancient vampire had looked confused, as if he was unable to comprehend that his plan had actually failed. The wolves had somehow tracked him here in time. Despite the false trail. Despite the pouring, scent obliterating rain. Despite his best effort, he'd failed.

As the fact dawned on him, the vampires' usually calm and collected facade dropped. His face transformed into one that looked as though it belonged in the most terrifying of horror movies, his lip curled back as a savage snarl ripped from his throat. His fangs were bared and his blood red eyes had narrowed dangerously as his eyes darted manically around the dimly lit room, trying to decide which wall the wolves would burst through.

What had started off as one howl was now many. The frenzied howls seemed to come from all around, the sound bouncing of the trees and rocks that surrounded the rangers hut hidden deep in the mountains and trees.

Everything happened at once.

The door burst open, the massive wolf that tore though destroying half the wall in the process.

Deimos lifted her from the ground, and in the blink of an eye they were on the other side of the room, Mac held pathetically against the vampires chest.

A second wolf piled through the gaping hole, this one even larger than the first. his dark russet fur covered in water dropplets. Outside the remaining pair circled. The dangerous growls and snapping of teeth could even be heard by Mac's human ears.

This was it. Her worst nightmare. The monster that had hunted her, face to face with the people she was so terrified of losing.

Time seemed to almost stand still as the brown eyes of the sandy wolf locked with hers. Seth.

* * *

_Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. That was so flaming difficult to write. I hope you enjoyed it all. I promise to crank the next chapter out a lot quicker! Yay!_

**_Please review, I'm eager to hear what you all think_**


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